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A 2018 study showed that from 2012 to 2015, flu vaccination among adults reduced the risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with flu by 82 percent. A number of studies have shown that in addition to helping to protect pregnant women, a flu vaccine given during pregnancy helps protect the baby from flu infection for several months after birth, when he or she is not old enough to be vaccinated. A 2017 study showed that flu vaccination reduced deaths, ICU admissions, ICU length of stay, and overall duration of hospitalization among hospitalized flu patients. A 2018 study showed that among adults hospitalized with flu, vaccinated patients were 59 percent less likely to be admitted to the ICU than those who had not been vaccinated.

It is more important than ever for Michiganders to protect themselves and their families by getting the flu shot this year! During the 2018-2019 flu season, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 4.4 million influenza illnesses (more than the population of Los Angeles), 58,000 flu hospitalizations (just over the number of students at Michigan State University) and 3,500 flu deaths (equal to saving about 10 lives per day over the course of a year). It takes up to two weeks after you get the flu shot for your body to build up enough immunity to prevent the flu, so Michigan residents should get vaccinated now to protect themselves before flu activity increases in Michigan. The flu vaccine has even been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among  people with heart disease, especially among those who had had a cardiac event  in the past year (source).