The new flu shots are here: When to get your shot

A flu virus can make you sick at any time of the year. However, what we think of as seasonal flu in the U.S. typically spreads in the fall and winter, peaking between December and February, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Even though vaccines can prevent severe infections, hospitalization and death, their protection wanes over time. Having said that, you may be wondering, When is the best time to get my annual flu shot?

September and October are ideal flu vaccination times for most people, who only need one dose each season, the CDC says. Your local or state health department may have chartered a “vaccine before Halloween” or “flu before the boos” campaign to encourage people in your community to get immunized before November. CDC recommends annual flu vaccination for everyone 6 months of age and older; high-dose and adjuvanted vaccines are available for adults 65 and older.

“For older adults and people who have chronic medical conditions, I usually recommend getting the flu shot anytime from mid-September to early October,” Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr., medical director of the National Cancer Foundation Infectious diseases. , he says wealth. “Because for those of us with immune systems that aren’t as robust, we want to make sure we’re vaccinating at a time that’s likely to give us immune protection throughout the flu season.”

By getting a flu shot, you also help limit the spread of the infection to the most vulnerable members of your community, says Dr. Michael Ben-Aderet, associate medical director of hospital epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“Every year in this country we have thousands and thousands of patients who are hospitalized and die from the flu, and they are especially elderly or people with medical conditions,” says Ben-Aderet. wealth. “It’s good for these people and everyone else that we get the flu shot.”

Whenever you choose to get your flu shot up-to-date, remember that it takes up to two weeks for your body to develop immunity to the virus.

Is it ever too late in the year to get your flu shot?

From 1982–83 to 2021–22, seasonal flu activity peaked 17 times in February, followed by seven in December and six in January, CDC records show. But it peaked six times in March and once in April; although less common, early spring flu spikes do occur. In addition, the CDC notes that COVID has made the timing and duration of flu activity less predictable.

Getting a flu shot before November is ideal, but anytime you can get a shot throughout the season is better than no protection at all, Hopkins says.

“Get it as soon as you can, and it’s not too late,” says Hopkins. “If you have viruses circulating in your community, get the vaccine because that can help reduce the severity of the infection, even if it doesn’t necessarily prevent the infection because you got it a little late.”

No, the flu shot does not give you the flu

Some people feel sick after getting vaccinated, enough to perpetuate the myth that immunizations like the flu and COVID shots give you those viruses. But no matter when in the season you get your flu shot, getting it annually should minimize side effects over time, explains Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

“If you haven’t had your flu shot in a while, or if you’re getting the high-dose flu shot, your arm hurts, you can have generalized muscle aches and pains, you can have a low grade. fever, you can get headache,” says Sampathkumar wealth. “These are all signs that your body is responding to the vaccine and not to the flu itself. The more often you get flu shots — if you get them year after year — you generally don’t have any of these side effects.”

Some children, pregnant people can get vaccinated against the flu in the summer

The CDC considers July and August too early for the general population to get their annual flu shot. However, pregnant women in their third trimester are encouraged to immunize themselves during these summer months; Vaccine-induced protection extends to their children, who will not be eligible for a shot of their own until they are 6 months old.

Children under 5, especially those under 2, are at high risk of severe influenza infection and can be vaccinated as soon as doses are available, even before September. Children 8 and under who have had less than two doses of the flu vaccine in their lifetime need two doses of the new vaccine, four weeks apart. The CDC recommends that these young children receive their first dose in the summer. Your child’s pediatrician can help you determine an ideal dosing schedule.

Vaccination before September is too soon for adults 65 and older, as well as for people who are pregnant in their first or second trimester, the CDC says. However, people who might not otherwise get vaccinated in September or October—those traveling abroad, for example—may want to consider the summer immunization.

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