When to get your flu shot

Q: Should I wait to get my flu shot until we know when a COVID vaccine is available? I don’t want to get them too close together, do I? -- Charlene R., Rochester, New York

A: We don’t know yet if social distancing and mask wearing will cut down on the number of flu cases this season. But we do know that if the flu and COVID-19 hit hard at the same time, our health care system could be brought to its knees. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert R. Redfield said in an interview with the editor of the journal JAMA, “This is a critical year for us to try to take flu as much off the table as we can.”

And there’s no reason to wait. Dr. Susan Rehm, vice chair at the Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Infectious Diseases, says the smart move is to get your flu shots ASAP. The vaccine is maximally effective for about six months and getting it now should carry you through until the risk of influenza dies down again next spring. The CDC adds that waiting too long (like until the end of October) increases the risk that you will catch the flu before your immunity kicks in (it takes a couple of weeks after you get the shot).

Seniors should receive a high-dose version; a peerreviewed study sponsored by the manufacturer found that it is about 24% more effective than the standard shot at preventing the flu. Whatever dose you get, the influenza vaccine reduces your risk of being admitted to intensive care with the flu by 82%.

As for its compatibility with a COVID-19 vaccine? An opinion piece in The Pharmaceutical Journal, put out by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in the U.K., says there’s a chance that it will eventually make sense to have both vaccines in one shot! So until then, get your flu shot now and the COVID-19 vaccine when it is available.