Have you had your flu shot yet?

October 2, 2020

Influenza is a serious illness and leads to high levels of hospitalization and deaths in the U.S. every year.  Annual influenza vaccines are proven to reduce your risk of getting the flu as well as to reduce the severity of flu if you do get it. The virus changes every year so everyone needs to be vaccinated each year to be protected. 

It is especially important this year for everyone to get an influenza vaccine. First, we don’t know what would happen if someone had both the flu and COVID-19 but we suspect that the body would have more difficulty fighting two viruses.  Second, in contrast to COVID, children are very vulnerable to the flu and to dying from the flu.  Children need to be vaccinated to protect them but adult vaccinations will also reduce risk for children.  Pregnant women should also get vaccinated as that will provide protection for them as well as for their infant in the first few months of life.  Finally, emergency departments and hospitals are often overwhelmed by influenza.  When COVID first appeared, influenza season was waning.  Adding the influenza burden to the expected later waves of COVID could create even worse conditions for health care than we saw in March 2020.

 

Who Needs a Flu Vaccine and When?

For 2020-2021, CDC recommends use of any licensed, age-appropriate flu vaccine as an option for vaccination this season.