DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As flu season nears, a survey from the Ohio State University found just under half of Americans do not plan on getting the flu shot.

“It is a potentially very serious illness. And you really do need that protection every single year, which is why we recommend the vaccine every fall,” said Dr. Matthew Farrell from OSU Wexner Medical Center.

Flu season gets into full swing by December, and health experts say now is the best time to get a flu shot in preparation.

“The flu shot ideally is going to keep you from getting sick with the flu at all,” said Farrell.

According to a survey by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, only around 45% of Americans will get the flu shot this year.

Farrell says a flu shot might not stop you from getting the flu entirely, but it still offers important protection.

“It can protect you from getting really sick. By really sick, I’m talking about the pneumonia, hospitalization or even death from influenza. It is a potentially very serious illness,” Farrell said.

It’s not just the flu shot — Amanda Bradshaw with the University of Mississippi says vaccine hesitancy has been a problem even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of people think vaccine hesitancy just means opting out of all vaccines, but that’s not the case,” said Bradshaw, an assistant professor of integrated marketing communications. “It can really be a spectrum between outright refusal of all vaccines to delaying or declining one or more vaccines.”

Bradshaw says anti-vaccine content and misinformation on social media is a big reason why people are avoiding vaccinations. She says it’s going to take more accurate messaging to combat it.

“It’s important to have, you know, the doctors and the white coats affirming the safety, but also that peer-to-peer influence, you know, families explaining why they’ve chosen to vaccinate, why their kids are healthy and happy,” Bradshaw said.