Flu Season Sees "Significant Increases" in 48 States, Puerto Rico, Says CDC; How to Protect Yourself and What You Need to Know

It's time to get your flu shots now, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns as flu cases have spiked across the nation in the last two weeks.

The CDC reported Monday that the center had been monitoring "significant increases" in flu activity across the U.S. since the end of November.

According to Dr. Melinda Wharton, acting director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, "Increasing flu activity should be a wake-up call. For anyone who has put off vaccination: It's time to get your flu vaccine now."

In particular, high rates of influenza are being reported in Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

The CDC's weekly surveillance report published on Nov. 30, 2012 showed that 48 states and Puerto Rico have already reported cases of laboratory-confirmed influenza and the percentage of specimens testing positive for influenza is rising fast across the U.S.

"Influenza-like-illness (ILI) activity levels in parts of the country are already higher than all of last season," the CDC reported. "Nationally, the United States reached the baseline level for ILI the week ending November 24, 2012 and 5 states are already reporting the highest level of activity possible."

CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, told the Center for Infections Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota that while influenza is notoriously unpredictable, early signs are showing that this year could be a hard-hitting one for the flu.

"It's time to get vaccinated," he said, adding that one promising development is that about 90 percent of the circulating flu viruses are well matched to the strains contained in the seasonal flu vaccine.

Preliminary estimates of vaccination uptake through early mid-November can be seen here.

What you need to know:

According to the CDC, certain groups of people are at high risk of developing flu-related complications. Those groups include:

- Pregnant women;

- Children younger than 5, but especially children younger than two years old;

- People 65 years of age and older;

-People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease).

In addition, there are other people for whom vaccination is especially important:

- People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities;

- People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including health care workers;

- Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu;

- Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated)/

Vaccines: Where to Get them:

In terms of vaccines, the CDC is advising that people get their flu shots--which they assure the public is safe--as early as possible.

Here are two types of flu vaccines that people can get:

- The "flu shot"-an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot is approved for use in people 6 months of age and older, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions. There are three different flu shots available:

- A regular flu shot approved for people ages 6 months and older;

- A high-dose flu shot approved for people 65 and older;

- An intradermal flu shot approved for people 18 to 64 years of age. (An intradermal shot is injected into the skin instead of the muscle, and uses a much smaller needle than the regular flu shot);

- The nasal-spray flu vaccine-a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that is given as a nasal spray (sometimes called LAIV for "Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine"). LAIV is approved for use in healthy* people ages 2 through 49 years who are not pregnant.

CVS/pharmacy, with 7,400 stores nationwide and MinuteClinic, with more than 600 locations in 25 states, also offer flu vaccinations. 

For more information on where to get your flu vaccinations, go to the Flu Vaccination Finder, sponsored by the federal Department of Health and Human Services.