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If you are still in the process of becoming infected, you are still debating whether or not you are going to get vaccinated. Susana Victoria Perez has more.
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Make your holiday get-a-flu-shot. That gives the vaccine enough to protect you against influenza.(Photo: AP)

Still have not squeezed in a flu shot? Treat yourself, and your family: Get it for Halloween.

Dr. Carl Fichtenbaum, an Infectious Disease Specialist at UC Health, said: "The flu vaccine is taking two to six weeks to protect you against the virus. So "earlier is better."

A flu shot before Halloween gives your body time "to be fully prepared for the oncoming influenza by producing the antibodies at the right level," he said.

Experts peg the flu season between Oct. 1 and May 31. So far, flu activity appears to be low across Ohio and the United States. Fichtenbaum said Australia, where now it's spring, had a mild flu season.

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Last flu season was the worst in a decade, with four children in Ohio from flu. This year's vaccine is said to be a good match for the H1N1 virus, expected to be the dominant actor in the upcoming U.S. flu season.

A flu shot is not a guarantee against getting sick. But the vaccine can improve the chance of prevention by 40 percent. In addition, the more people who get flu shots, the better the overall protection for everyone, a phenomenon called "herd immunity."

Dr. Jerome Adams, the nation's surgeon general, said last month that Americans had a "social responsibility" to get the most out of the 2017-18 season killed 80,000 people.

The website vaccinfinder.org can locate a flu-shot dispenser by ZIP code. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has a flu-shot finder.

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