 Just as they do every year, health officials are urging people to get vaccinated against the flu. And that's exactly what students are doing here at BU. One of my friends mentioned that they're giving out free flu vaccines and I thought if it's free then maybe it's worth it. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five Americans gets the flu. And on average, the flu puts 200,000 people in the hospital and kills 24,000 each year. I know I just thought that it's safer because I don't know what would happen if I didn't get it. I just thought it would be better if I did. Dr. Paul Biddinger is the Director of Operations for Emergency Medicine as well as Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness at Massachusetts General Hospital here in Boston. He tells us more about how the flu shot works. So all vaccines work pretty much the same way, which is they stimulate your immune system to make antibodies so that when you're exposed to an infection you are already primed and ready to go and that prevents the infection or at least limits how severe it's going to be. The CDC recommends everyone older than six months to be vaccinated against the flu. And if you're someone who falls under the high-risk category for developing flu-related complications, this vaccination could be life-saving. However, some people still aren't sold on the flu shot. I don't get the flu shot because I think if I'm supposed to get sick, then I'm supposed to get sick and that's part of my life. We wear our seatbelts not because we expect to crash, but just in case when we're in our cars. And you don't want to be that very unlucky person that has to be hospitalized or in the intensive care unit, even if you're healthy because you didn't get that chance to ward it off of the flu shot. If you still want your flu shot, it's not too late. All you have to do is go to Boston's public health website and use their flu clinic finder. That way you can see where to get vaccinated before this year's flu finds you. For Good Morning BU, I'm Iris Moore.