By Lynne Adkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Have you heard that this flu season is going to be a bad one?

The signs are everywhere — “Get your flu shot here!” — and every supermarket, pharmacy, and clinic is offering the vaccination to keep you from getting sick.

Last year the flu season was relatively mild, but this a new year, according to Tom Skinner, a spokesman with the Centers for Disease Control.

“Each flu season is unique in and of itself,” he tells KYW Newsradio, “and it’s really hard to predict what kind of flu season we’re going to have.  We can say with certainty that flu will come,” he added.

Flu season generally begins in late October or November, and since it takes a few weeks after the shot for the protection to take effect, the time to roll up your sleeve is now.

The CDC suggests that everyone over six months of age do just that.