Half of U.S. adults not concerned about the flu

More than half of U.S. adults say they are not very or not at all concerned about the upcoming flu season, according to the results of a survey released Nov. 29 by the American Heart Association.

The online survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Heart Association in July and included responses from 4,047 adults in the United States.

The survey revealed that more than half of U.S. adults (54 percent) responded they were not very or not at all concerned about the upcoming flu season. Only one in four older adults (aged 65 years or older) were very familiar with the high-dose flu vaccine recommended for them. The top three reasons cited for not getting a flu shot last year included concern about side effects (17 percent), not thinking they needed it (30 percent), and not being concerned about getting the flu (28 percent).

"The flu is back and it's already proving to be dangerous this year, especially for children and seniors," Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., the American Heart Association chief medical officer for prevention, said in a statement. "The flu shot is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective prevention measures I can think of to stay healthy and avoid a serious illness or death."