Flu Vaccine

The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against influenza (flu) is to get a flu vaccine every flu season. Flu is a contagious respiratory disease that can lead to serious illness, hospitalization, or even death. CDC recommends everyone six months and older get an annual flu vaccine.
Flu Vaccine Facts (cdc.gov)

Why is the Flu Vaccine Important:
• Every year, flu vaccination prevents illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths.
• Flu vaccination also is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions. For example flu vaccination has been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among in people with heart disease.
• Vaccinating pregnant women helps protect them from flu illness and hospitalization, and also has been shown to help protect the baby from flu infection for several months after birth, before the baby can be vaccinated.
• A 2017 study showed that flu vaccine can be life-saving in children.
• While some people who get vaccinated still get sick, flu vaccination has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness.

Why it is Important to get the Flu Vaccine Every Flu Season:

• Flu viruses are constantly changing, so flu vaccines may be updated from one season to the next to protect against the viruses that research suggests will be common during the upcoming flu season.
• Your protection from a flu vaccine declines over time. Yearly vaccination is needed for the best protection. 

By reducing the severity and impact of influenza, we hope to lessen the amount of preventable medical visits and hospitalizations.

Flu Season 2023-2024 Updates

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What’s New for 2023-2024
A few things are different for the 2023-2024 influenza (flu) season, including:

    • The composition of flu vaccines has been updated.
    • What is new for this year? 
    • For people younger than 65 years, CDC does not recommend any one flu vaccine over another.
    • For the 2023-2024 flu season, there are three flu vaccines that are preferentially recommended for people 65 years and older. These are Fluzone High-Dose?Quadrivalent vaccine, Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant?flu vaccine and Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine. If none of the three flu vaccines preferentially recommended for people 65 and older is available at the time of administration, people in this age group can get any other age-appropriate flu vaccine instead.
    • The recommended timing of vaccination is similar to last season. For most people who need only one dose for the season, September and October are generally good times to get vaccinated. Vaccination in July and August is not recommended for most adults but can be considered for some groups. While ideally it’s recommended to get vaccinated by the end of October, it’s important to know that vaccination after October can still provide protection during the peak of flu season. vaccination should continue throughout the season as long as influenza viruses are circulating.
 Key Facts About Influenza (Flu)

There are many vaccine options to choose from. The most important thing is for all people 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year.
People 65 years and older have an increased risk of severe flu illness, hospitalization, and death compared with younger populations. Use of potentially more effective vaccines for older people can avert serious outcomes.  In recent years, CDC has not recommended any one flu vaccine over another for any age group, and there is still no preferential recommendation for people younger than 65. If you have questions about which vaccine is best for you, talk to your doctor or other health care professional.

When to Get a Flu Vaccine this Flu Season

Similarities and Difference between Flu and COVID-19

Similarities:

For both COVID-19 and flu, 1 or more days can pass between when a person becomes infected and when he or she starts to experience illness symptoms.

Differences:
If a person has COVID-19, it could take them longer to experience symptoms than if they had flu.

Flu:
Typically, a person experiences symptoms anywhere from 1 to 4 days after infection.  Flu Symptoms

COVID-19:
Typically, a person experiences symptoms about 5 days after being infected, but symptoms can appear 2 to 14 days after infection.  COVID-19 Symptoms

For more similarities and differences between Flu and COVID-19, visit this page from the CDC.