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Amid all the attention paid to COVID-19 vaccinations, U.S. health experts have another plea: Don’t skip your flu shot.
Flu cases have dropped to historically low levels during the pandemic. The United States and Europe experienced virtually no flu last winter, and the southern hemisphere just completed its second influenza season from the coronavirus pandemic with little to report.
But with the reopening of American schools and businesses, the resumption of international travel and much less hiding this fall, the flu could be making a comeback. The big question is whether this will spread or roar and put additional pressure on hospitals already struggling with COVID-19 outbreaks.
“People are fed up with hearing that they have to go on and get vaccinated of all kinds,” said influenza specialist Richard Webby of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Yet after 18 months of low exposure to influenza, “as a population we probably don’t have as much immunity to this virus as we generally could,” said Webby. “It makes perfect sense to go get that vaccine and at least prepare for something that you know could be pretty bad.”
Here are a few things to know:
Q: Who should get the flu shot?
A: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says almost everyone needs an annual flu shot, starting with 6 month old babies. The flu is more dangerous for adults over 65, young children, pregnant women, and people with certain health conditions, such as heart or lung disease.
Q: Why do I need it this year, since the flu was not a threat during the pandemic?
A: The COVID-19 restrictions, including masking and staying at home – especially for children, who are the biggest spreaders of the flu – clearly had the secondary benefit of keeping the flu under control and other respiratory bugs. But as soon as the masks started to come off, the United States saw an unusual summer wave of children hospitalized with a different virus, called RSV, which typically strikes in the winter. This is a worrying sign of what to expect if the flu returns.
Q: What is the forecast for the flu this winter?
A: The flu is notoriously hard to predict. But there is a little more traffic in some countries this fall than last year, including a recent surge in China, said Webby, who heads a World Health Organization influenza center. And people are perhaps a little more vulnerable: Before the pandemic, 15 to 30 percent of the population was exposed to the flu each year, a lack of immunity, he said.
“If the flu at least sets in, it will have a better chance of spreading this season,” he said.
Q: When should I get the flu shot?
A: Now. The CDC encourages people to get vaccinated by the end of October. Doctors’ offices, retail pharmacies, and local health departments have millions of doses on hand. And most Americans with health insurance can get it without co-payment.
Q: I have already received a COVID-19 vaccine. Do i really need a flu shot too?
A: COVID-19 vaccines prevent coronavirus and flu shots prevent influenza. They don’t overlap. But you can get both viruses at the same time, or one after the other.
“Avoid the double whammy” and get both vaccines, the American College of Emergency Physicians advised. At the moment, COVID-19 vaccines are available for anyone 12 years of age and older.
Flu shots aren’t as strong as vaccines against other illnesses, but if people get the flu anyway, they tend to have much milder illness.
Q: Can I get a flu shot and a COVID-19 shot at the same visit?
A: Yes, the CDC says it’s good to pair a flu shot with a primary COVID-19 vaccine or a booster dose.
Q: What’s the best flu shot to get?
A: The flu is constantly evolving, and each year’s vaccine is designed to fight the strains that international experts believe are most likely to circulate. This year, all influenza vaccines available in the United States offer protection against these four strains. Options include traditional injections or a nasal spray vaccine. There are also injections specially designed to boost the immune system weakened by age in the elderly, either with a higher dose or with an additional immune boost. There are also options for people with allergies to eggs, which are used to get the flu shot.
Q: How much flu vaccine is available?
A: The CDC expects vaccine makers to deliver 188 million to 200 million doses. Nearly 194 million doses were distributed last winter, a record.
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The Associated Press’s Department of Health and Science receives support from the Department of Science Education at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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