It seems like everywhere I go right now, people are talking about the flu. There are definitely years where it seems like it takes out more people than others, but it does actually seem to be pretty bad this year. Regarding flu deaths this year, the CDC says:
The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was 6.7% for the week ending December 16, 2017 (week 50). This percentage is below the epidemic threshold of 6.9% for week 50 in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Surveillance System.
A 0.2 difference between the actual proportion of deaths and the epidemic threshold seems pretty small.
Even if you never get the flu and feel like the 15 minutes of hanging around at Walgreens is a waste of time, your immunocompromised friends, family, coworkers, and public transportation sharers will appreciate your having a shot.
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