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CDC responds to Hugh Jackman comment on flu shot
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01/15/13 10:22 AM ET
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) waded into Hollywood news this week, telling viewers of the Golden Globe Awards to ignore actor Hugh Jackman when it comes to the flu vaccine.
Jackman, who picked up a Best Actor award in Sunday's ceremony, told the audience that he was just getting over a case of the flu. The illness has swept the United States in the last month.
"Sorry — I’m at the tail end of this flu, and I was kicking myself for not getting the flu shot, but it appears actually you don’t need one. I feel great!" Jackman said to laughs.
"I don’t know if [Jackman] really meant that vaccination was not a good thing to do, but each year millions become ill with influenza, more than 200,000 may be hospitalized, and between 3,000 and 49,000 will die," a CDC spokesman told celebrity news site TMZ.
"The first and most important step in protecting against the flu is to get a flu vaccine each season," the spokesman added.
As of Friday, the flu had reached epidemic levels in the United States. Health experts suggest that everyone get a flu shot. This year's vaccine is 62 percent effective, according to the CDC.
