What you need to know as flu season arrives

Influenza vaccinations now available through Adena Health

CHILLICOTHE, OH (Oct. 1, 2024) – While every flu season is a little bit different, there is one common step you can take each year to help reduce the risk of serious illness to yourself and those around you.

Getting an annual influenza vaccination gives the body’s natural immune system a boost in recognizing and fighting what is determined to be the most common strain or strains of the flu in any given year. The few minutes it takes to get a flu shot can save you days of discomfort and downtime that accompanies a bout with the flu and may help prevent your loved ones from contracting the illness as well.

Adena Health offers flu shots by appointment at any of its family medicine, primary care, and pediatric locations. Flu vaccinations are also available at all Adena urgent care, same-day, and walk-in clinic locations in Chillicothe, Circleville, Hillsboro, Jackson, Washington Court House, and Waverly.

Adena infectious disease specialist Cody Horn, DO, said the 2024/25 flu season is expected to be similar to what was experienced last fall and winter, with the injectable trivalent flu vaccine available this year targeting the FluA (H1N1 and H3N2) strains and a FluB strain.

Flu season generally begins in October and can run until as late as May, but often experiences its peak between December and February. With this season just under way, here’s what you need to know in making your decision to vaccinate.

When is the best time to get the flu shot?
Dr. Horn says the optimal time to receive a flu shot is early fall.

“Usually in October around the start of the actual flu season is the best option,” Dr. Horn said. “That way you have some time to build up some immunity before the height of the season.”

While some vaccines often become available in September, it is important to remember the immunity they provide can wane over time, so getting the shot too early can impact the vaccine’s effectiveness later in the season. The flu vaccine is available and can be taken throughout the season, but those who wait leave themselves vulnerable to any early season spikes in flu activity.

Who should get vaccinated against the flu?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that everyone six months of age and older, with rare exceptions, should receive a flu vaccine every year. It is considered particularly important for those at higher-risk of developing serious complications should they catch the flu, including those 65 and older and those with certain chronic health conditions such as asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and others.

What are the benefits of getting vaccinated against the flu?
According to the CDC, flu vaccinations prevent millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor visits every year. The CDC also cites several studies showing vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-related hospitalizations, impact the severity of illness for those who are vaccinated but still get sick, and is an important preventative tool for people who have certain chronic health conditions.

Reducing those risks also can help prevent hospitals, urgent cares, and emergency rooms from becoming overwhelmed in treating flu-related illnesses.

Will getting a flu vaccination give you the flu?
Absolutely not, Dr. Horn says.

“I hear all the time people say they don’t get the flu shot because then they get the flu,” he said. “That’s impossible. It is a killed virus, and you can’t get actual influenza from a killed virus. What most people are getting is the heat-killed vaccine in the arm and it can’t form a live virus, so you can’t get the flu from an intramuscular flu vaccination.”

The injection of the inactive flu virus helps the body’s immune system create antibodies that can recognize and fight any potential infection from a live virus. Because immunity can wane over time and because different strains of the flu may be prevalent from year to year, an annual flu shot targeting the prevalent strain is the best defense against illness.

Are there side effects from getting vaccinated?
Like any other injection, common side effects from a flu vaccination can include soreness or mild swelling where the shot was given, a low-grade headache or fever, nausea, muscle aches and fatigue. More significant reactions are rare and usually involve those with allergic reactions to an ingredient in the vaccine, such as egg protein.

It is important to let the health care professional administering your shot know in advance if you have a history of allergies or severe reactions to the influenza vaccine or any ingredient within the vaccine.

Can you still get the flu if vaccinated?
Because everybody’s immune system is different and there are often different strains of the flu virus circulating during any flu season, it is still possible to catch the flu if vaccinated. Those who are exposed to the flu virus in the two-week period following vaccination that it takes for immunity protection to fully develop may also get sick. In those cases, however, the vaccine can have an impact on the body’s ability to fight the infection.

Likewise, the vaccine will not protect against other respiratory viruses besides the flu that can produce similar symptoms, such as rhinoviruses or the virus that causes COVID-19.

Can you get a flu vaccination and COVID-19 vaccination at the same time?
Yes, according to Dr. Horn. While there are some vaccines you do not want to take at the same time as another one, there have been no problems identified with getting flu and COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time.