In new effort to reset flu shot expectations, CDC to avoid messages that "could be seen as a scare tactic"

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has launched a new public relations campaign this year to "reset expectations" around the influenza vaccine, after the agency's consumer research found some Americans misunderstand the benefits of the annual shot.

"People are more likely to perceive messages as credible and trustworthy if they set realistic expectations about what vaccines can and cannot do," the CDC's Sara Dodge Ramey told a panel of federal vaccine advisers at a meeting Friday.

Ramey said the agency's new "Wild to Mild" campaign had been created as the result of a dozen focus groups in June and July earlier this year.