Public health experts trying to predict the severity of the upcoming flu season in the U.S. often look to the southern hemisphere for clues. Here’s a word from Down Under, where winter recently ended:

Get Ready, America.

Australia, which saw an earlier-than-usual peak of flu cases, had a rough season. The country has been hit hard by a particularly virulent strain of flu, H3N2, which tends to cause more severe illnesses, especially in the elderly.

U.S. health officials are urging people to get their flu shots as soon as possible, and certainly by the end of the month.

Australia?s health Department recently said 662 people have died from the flu this season and more than 270000 people have fallen ill, making it one of the worst outbreaks in the country’s history?

? When the data started coming in from Australia, did he get everything?s attention,? said Dr. William Lynam, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Pediatric?s Healthcare in Atlanta. ? It put us on notice to start making sure we’re ready, maybe even a little bit sooner than we already are.?

Linam and other experts stressed that the Australian flu season does not always predict the American one.

It takes about two weeks after the flu shot for antibodies to develop in the body, according to the Centers for disease control and prevention.

Even in the US, there may be regional differences.

Georgia?s 2017-18 flu season was particularly brutal. The long-term flu season does not subside until the end of April. It claimed 145 statewide lives and led to more than 3,000 hospitalizations in metro Atlanta. Six months earlier, an intense flu outbreak in Australia foreshadowed a deadly outbreak here.

The flu causes fever, headaches, muscle aches and can lead to complications such as pneumonia, which can be serious and even fatal.

Every year, 5% to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu; tens of thousands are hospitalized; and thousands of people die from flu-related illness.

The effectiveness of the flu vaccine can vary, but it has generally fluctuated between 40% and 60% over the past few years. The efficiency was only 19% during 2014-15.

While many companies and schools offer free flu shots, surveys show that more than a third of Americans are declining.

Experts stress that even if you come down with the flu, the vaccine can still offer protection. This reduces the severity of the flu and reduces the likelihood of complications. Getting the vaccine can also shorten the duration of the disease if you get sick.

The elderly, young children and people with chronic diseases are at the greatest risk of serious flu-related complications, but flu also kills healthy people every year.

He, his wife and two sons received flu shots two weeks ago.

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More detailed information

Every year, 5% to 20% of the U.S. population gets the flu. Tens of thousands are hospitalized.

During the 2018-19 flu season, more than 1,500 in metro Atlanta were hospitalized with flu ailments, and 44 people in Georgia died of the flu.

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