WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s flu shot season again and U.S. health officials urge getting one before the end of October.

The past two years brought miserable flu seasons – last year’s was unusually long and the one before that was unusually deadly.

There’s no way to predict how bad this fall and winter will be. Typically flu starts widely circulating in November or December, and peaks by February.

The vaccine is far from perfect. But doctors say it’s the best protection available against a virus that kills tens of thousands even in a not-so-bad year.

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