This will only hurt for a second

It only hurts for a bit and it can protect you for months. It’s a flu shot — and so what if you don’t like needles, what's a couple seconds of pain (it’s all in your head anyway) if it means avoiding the dreaded flu. The Centers for Disease Control is taking this year’s flu season more serious than ever — serious enough that it’s posted an ad on YouTube that quotes a mother saying, “I should have got Emily a flu shot.” Well, Emily died from the flu. It’s not the sniffles we’re dealing with here. Not just nausea, either. The flu can kill. In fact, last year alone, some 36,000 Americans died from the flu and another 200,000 were hospitalized, the CDC said. This year, the supply is greater than it ever has been — 143 to 146 million doses. The CDC says this year’s vaccine is a good match and should provide plenty of protection. Last year, just 113 million of the 140 million doses of vaccine produced were used, spurring ads like the one Emily’s mom had posted on YouTube. This year, the CDC is advising that every child from 6 months to 18 years be inoculated, unless they have a serious egg allergy. Before now, the flu vaccine was recommended only for kids under 5 and for those with chronic health problems like asthma. Look, there’s plenty of vaccine to go around, and it’s only a shot in the arm. A small price to pay to keep you and your family healthy this winter.