Have You Gotten Your Flu Vaccine? It’s Not Too Late

December 5, 2024

Vaccine, happy woman and hands of doctor with plaster for health, wellness and service in clinic.

You avoid people with flu symptoms, wash your hands regularly and keep your hands away from your nose and mouth. However, there’s one additional step to follow when preparing for flu season: vaccination. If you’re not sure if the flu vaccine is right for you, consider this.

“Hundreds of thousands of people are hospitalized, and thousands to tens of thousands of people die from flu-related causes every year,” says Alphonso Scotti, P.A.-C., certified physician associate at Weill Cornell Medicine. “Even if you’re not one of the unlucky hospitalized patients, flu symptoms can disrupt your work, school and social activities for weeks.”

Prefer to avoid disruptions in your schedule? Get your annual flu vaccination today by scheduling on Connect or visiting your local pharmacy. Also check if your work place, school, or community center is offering free flu shots in the near future.

How Vaccination Works

Developing a new flu vaccine each year takes a lot of work. There are multiple flu viruses out there, and it’s never clear which ones will show up. Researchers tirelessly work to identify which are most likely to spread each year. Then, they create a vaccine that protects against those types of flu.

To increase your likelihood of a flu-free season, some vaccines protect against more than one type of flu. This season, all flu vaccines in the United States protect against three flu variants. This increases your odds of protection.

Depending on your needs, your vaccine will include one of the following:

Dead (inactive) influenza viruses
Influenza virus proteins
Weakened influenza viruses

Like all vaccines, the flu vaccine doesn’t guarantee you won’t get sick. According to the American Medical Association, each year’s flu vaccine provides 40 percent to 60 percent protection against the flu. There’s still good reason to get vaccinated. Even if you wind up with the flu, immunization reduces the severity of your symptoms and may keep you out of the hospital.

It may even protect others.

“The more people who get vaccinated, the more we protect each other,” says Dr. Lisa Kalik, internal medicine physician at Weill Cornell Medicine. “Because vaccination creates less people to transmit the flu.”

‘Tis the Season for Vaccination

The flu shot takes two weeks to build your immunity and provide maximum protection. Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you get a flu shot in September or October. Get one that early, and you give your body time to build immunity before the flu season is in full force.

If you’re reading this after October has come and gone, take heart. A flu vaccine today can still help you stay healthy throughout the cold months. That’s why National Influenza Vaccination Week starts on December 2, 2024—to encourage you to get vaccinated whenever you can.

Who Should Get Vaccinated

“The great majority of people can be safely vaccinated,” Dr. Kalik says. “Everyone six months or older should be vaccinated, unless you have a very specific allergy or contraindication.”

The main reason to avoid a flu shot is if you’re allergic to something in the shot or have had an allergic reaction to the flu shot in the past. If you aren’t sure if the flu shot is safe for you, talk with your provider. Discuss your health issues or allergies to ensure vaccination is safe for you and that you receive the appropriate vaccine.

Vaccination, Your Way

Today, there are multiple ways to receive the flu vaccine. There are also different types of vaccines for specific people.

Your choices include:

Injections. The standard flu vaccination is a single shot given in the muscle of your arm. Some injectable vaccines contain eggs, while others do not. Additionally, special vaccine varieties are available to those over age 65. These vaccines provide added protection to older individuals.
Sprays. Instead of receiving a shot, you can get your vaccination through a nasal spray. Though effective, it is only recommended for a specific group of people. “You can’t use the spray if you’re pregnant or have certain asthma conditions,” Dr. Kalik says. For healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49, however, the spray offers flu protection, without the needle.

No matter what’s in your vaccine or how you receive it, the virus is not infectious. In other words, the flu vaccine cannot give you the flu. That said, you may experience mild symptoms after vaccination. Common symptoms include muscle soreness at the site of the injection and a fever or other mild flu symptoms.

Beyond the Flu

As you gear up for flu season, flu isn’t the only viral illness to protect against. Other illnesses that put your health at risk include:

Colds. There is no vaccine to protect against the common cold. Reduce your risk by staying away from people with cold symptoms, washing your hands regularly and cleaning surfaces that people touch often.
COVID-19. The same steps that reduce your risk of a cold help you avoid COVID-19. Vaccination gets you one step closer to prevention. To save time, consider getting flu and COVID-19 shots together.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Dr. Kalik has noticed an increased number of RSV infections in recent years, particularly in children. Though the virus typically causes minor cold-like symptoms, it can lead to severe symptoms. In some cases, infected children or older adults require hospitalization to recover. Immunization can help protect those at highest risk.

“It’s so easy to get a flu shot and quite frankly, a COVID-19 vaccine, that I bring it up to every patient, even if they come in for something completely different,” Dr. Kalik says. “It’s a big priority for every visit at this time of year.”

Are you ready to make health a priority in your life? Receiving the right vaccinations is a good start. Find a doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine who can help you on your journey toward better health.