CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Flu season is coming up and this year there is plenty of vaccine to go around. But health officials say many Americans won't get their shots, and that's killing them. Here's CNN's Julie Vallese.</s>JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Coughing, sneezing, that scratchy in the throat feeling, all can be symptoms of influenza. While many brush it off as an inconvenient few days in bed, health officials warn it is something much more serious.</s>DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CDC: Each year, more than 36,000 people, on average, die from complications of influenza.</s>VALLESE: The majority of the deaths are among the over age 65. An additional 114,000 Americans are hospitalized. While the onset of the flu is tracked, just how bad it will be and when it will hit is harder to predict. Armed with the certain knowledge the flu will come, health professionals are urging Americans to get a vaccination as soon as possible, ideally during October or early November.</s>NANCY COX, CDC INFLUENZA BRANCH: Vaccination is clearly the most effective way to prevent influenza and its complications. Influenza vaccine can prevent illness in 70 to 90 percent of healthy individuals.</s>VALLESE: And, say the researchers, immunizations lower the total number of hospitalizations and prevent 80 percent of influenza deaths among seniors. (on camera): According to health professionals, one reason Americans don't get vaccinated is lack of time. But that, they say, is a poor excuse because shots are widely available at local drug and grocery stores, for example, as well as doctor's offices. (voice-over): If the idea of a shot is the reason you're taking a pass, there is a new nasal spray. But with the spray comes a warning -- it is a live virus, so only healthy children and adults from five to 45 should use it. In Washington, I'm Julie Vallese.
Many Americans Won't Get Flu Shots