Health Alert: We Could Be In For Rough Flu Season, Everyone Urged To Get Flu Shot

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Health officials say the upcoming flu season could be one of the roughest in a while so they urging everyone to get a flu shot.

They say a particularly bad flu outbreak this year in Australia could ben an indicator of what could happen in the US.

Doctors want you to remember that you have to get the vaccine every year.

"Every year the vaccine is changing, so the fact that you got it last year does not protect you from this year's virus," said Dr. Sultana Alkon, a pediatrician at Broward Health Medical Center.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that everyone over six months old get a flu shot.

Children receiving their very first flu shot will need two doses, spaced four weeks apart. If a child under nine has received only one flu shot in his or her lifetime, that child also will need two doses. That means they too should get their first dose as soon as possible.