When is the Best Time to Get a Flu Shot This Year?

As trees grow bare and the weath­er becomes cool­er, many of us are prepar­ing for a long win­ter ahead. A part of this prepa­ra­tion involves plan­ning for the upcom­ing flu sea­son cou­pled with COVID-19. Below are com­mon ques­tions you may have about this year’s flu season. 

Should I get a flu shot this year?

The short answer is YES. Get­ting a flu vac­cine this fall is more impor­tant than ever. Influen­za (or the flu) can cause seri­ous com­pli­ca­tions and hos­pi­tal­iza­tions even among healthy peo­ple. Whether you have received a flu shot in the past or not, receiv­ing a flu shot this year is an easy way to pro­tect your­self, your fam­i­ly, friends and your com­mu­ni­ty from get­ting the flu and also help min­i­mize the bur­den on many health­care sys­tems, decreas­ing the num­ber of hos­pi­tal­iza­tions and unnec­es­sary health­care visits. 

While the vac­cine doesn’t elim­i­nate the flu from our com­mu­ni­ties com­plete­ly, it can pro­tect you from con­tract­ing this year’s most com­mon strains or decrease the sever­i­ty of your symp­toms if you do become infect­ed. Keep­ing your immune sys­tem healthy allows your body to fight any oth­er ill­ness, like COVID-19 or Mon­key­pox, that you may be exposed to this year. 

Who should get the flu vaccine? 

Every­one in your fam­i­ly, 6 months of age and old­er, includ­ing preg­nant women, should receive a flu shot. It not only pro­tects you; it also pro­tects your fam­i­ly and friends. Chances are, you know some­one who falls into a high-risk cat­e­go­ry. Accord­ing to the CDC, adults aged 65 and old­er or peo­ple with chron­ic health con­di­tions, includ­ing asth­ma, dia­betes and heart dis­ease, are con­sid­ered most vul­ner­a­ble to the flu. For those 65 years old and above, we rec­om­mend receiv­ing the high-dose influen­za vaccine. 

What is the best time to get a flu shot?

Flu sea­son emerges in ear­ly fall and can last through Spring. 

We are already see­ing influen­za cas­es here in the Unit­ed States and pre­dict this to be a very ear­ly flu sea­son. For this rea­son, the Cen­ters for Dis­ease Con­trol and Pre­ven­tion (CDC) has advised every­one to receive their influen­za vac­cine by the end of Octo­ber 2022. 

How­ev­er, receiv­ing the vac­cine any time through­out the flu sea­son can help pre­vent the flu. 

Do I need more than one flu shot this year? 

You only need one flu shot to pro­vide pro­tec­tion from the flu this year. Your annu­al flu vac­cine can help pre­vent the flu through­out the entire flu season. 

Can I get my COVID boost­er, flu shot, mon­key­pox vac­cine, Pre­vnar 20, etc. all on the same day? 

Yes, you can. There is no need to space these vac­cines out, nor is there a require­ment to get them in a cer­tain order. 

If you would pre­fer to space out your COVID-19 boost­er and flu shot, we rec­om­mend receiv­ing your COVID-19 boost­er first, fol­lowed by your flu shot by the end of October. 

Get more answers on COVID-19 Vaccines >

What are the dif­fer­ences between flu and COVID-19?

Flu and COVID-19’s symp­toms close­ly over­lap, and every­one may expe­ri­ence symp­toms to vary­ing degrees of sever­i­ty. If you expe­ri­ence any of these symp­toms this sea­son, reach out to your pri­ma­ry care provider as they will pro­vide care rec­om­men­da­tions and test­ing options. 

*SOURCE: Cen­ters for Dis­ease Con­trol and Pre­ven­tion (CDC)

What should I do if I get sick with flu or COVID-19 symptoms? 

If you feel ill this sea­son, espe­cial­ly with flu or COVID-19 symp­toms, there are sev­er­al key steps you can take to safe­ly recov­er and lim­it the spread of any virus. The most impor­tant? STAY HOME, EXCEPT TO RECEIVE MED­ICAL CARE. 

By stay­ing home, you can give your body the oppor­tu­ni­ty to rest and recov­er as well as lim­it the expo­sure of any virus to your com­mu­ni­ty. As much as you can, self-iso­late in a sep­a­rate room away from oth­ers and wear a mask and social­ly dis­tance your­self when around any­one else. If pos­si­ble, try to not share a bath­room and per­son­al items, such as cups, eat­ing uten­sils, tow­els and bed­ding. While keep­ing your dis­tance may be dif­fi­cult, know that this is only tem­po­rary and is impor­tant to keep your loved ones healthy. 

Prac­tic­ing healthy habits when sick is also essen­tial. Both the flu and COVID-19 can take a toll on your well-being, mak­ing nor­mal day-to-day activ­i­ties dif­fi­cult. While on the mend, drink plen­ty of flu­ids to pre­vent dehy­dra­tion and get plen­ty of rest. Clear bev­er­ages, like water, ice chips and broth, along with sports drinks, are great options to stay hydrated.

It’s also impor­tant to con­tact your pri­ma­ry care provider for guid­ance as you nav­i­gate your ill­ness. We all react dif­fer­ent­ly when exposed to any virus; it’s best to stay con­nect­ed with your care team and keep a close eye on con­cern­ing symp­toms. Your provider can share care instruc­tions and advise what to do next, such as deter­min­ing if you may need a COVID-19 test. Video vis­its are avail­able for online sched­ul­ing with pri­ma­ry care providers to dis­cuss your care instruc­tions and next steps.

Once you have recov­ered, a deep clean will be in order. Click here for tips on deep clean­ing after being sick.

To keep your­self and oth­ers safe, let’s pre­pare for the unknown and stay ahead of this flu sea­son. Walk-in or by-appoint­ment flu shot clin­ics are avail­able at sev­er­al Duly loca­tions through­out the Chica­go sub­urbs. With walk-in hours avail­able sev­en days a week, you are your fam­i­ly can receive your flu shot at a time and loca­tion that is con­ve­nient for you. Make an appoint­ment or find a flu shot clin­ic near you >