Flu season typically ends in May, which means it isn’t too late for a flu shot. (Just remember that it takes a couple of weeks for antibodies to kick in.) Vaccination can reduce the risk of being hospitalized for the flu, and it can make symptoms less severe.

Flu cases are surging across the nation, closing nearly a dozen schools and swamping hospitals in some states. At least 24 million cases, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 deaths —including 57 children —have been reported for this flu season,