By mid-December, Americans can expect that desired and anticipated pain in the arm-a flu shot. The vaccine shortage is slowly coming to an end.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the shortage was created because manufacturers had difficulty growing the necessary virus. However, nearly 70 percent of the expected 75 million vaccines have been given this season.
Flu vaccines are 70-90% effective in healthy adults. They take about two weeks and can be beneficial if the flu season has already started.
The flu kills an estimated 20,000 Americans each year, most of the fatalities being the elderly and chronically ill.
