Altruism, not self-protection, may be the best motivator for Americans sitting on the fence as to whether they get vaccinated against the flu this fall. That’s one of the major findings of surveys and focus group research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as federal health officials for the 2010 flu season.

Many respondents, who did not consider themselves at high risk for suffering complications from influenza, responded favorably to messages urging them to get vaccinated to avoid spreading the virus to “loved ones or community members who were more vulnerable,” said Kris Sheedy, PhD, associate director for communication science at the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The findings are influencing the way the CDC is promoting vaccination this fall with the campaign theme, “The flu ends with U.” The letter U also refers to another significant development in the 2010 flu vaccination campaign: a “universal” recommendation that everyone over the age of six months get immunized.

Federal health officials came up with the recommendation after determining that everyone can benefit from flu vaccination. They’re also hopeful that the universal recommendation will encourage the vaccination of more people with chronic conditions, who may not realize they’re at risk for complications from the flu.

The CDC studies suggest that many young people with asthma do not consider themselves as having a “chronic condition.”

One shot fits most:

2009 Pandemic H1N1 is included in this year’s “seasonal” flu vaccine, which also offers protection against, what health experts believe will be, the most prevalent strains of two other types of flu: influenza B and H3N2.

Although trivalent (three in one) vaccines are standard operating procedure for flu season, the late emergence of H1N1 last year, forced manufacturers to create an additional, monovalent (standalone) vaccine for 2009 H1N1.