{"id":65494,"date":"2025-09-10T09:07:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=65494"},"modified":"2025-10-24T11:50:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T17:50:47","slug":"this-flu-season-get-your-flu-vaccine-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/this-flu-season-get-your-flu-vaccine-early\/","title":{"rendered":"Best plan for this flu season? Get your flu vaccine soon."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Vaccines
Vaccines are available now to prevent severe cases of the flu and COVID-19. Don’t worry about timing your shots perfectly. Just make an appointment and get your vaccines. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vaccines are available now to help prevent severe cases of the flu and COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Rather than trying to time your vaccines perfectly, it’s best to schedule a visit with your doctor or visit a pharmacy and get your vaccines soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cA common misconception when it comes to timing your flu shot is to wait until later in the season,\u201d said Dr. Michelle Barron<\/a>, senior medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth. \u201cMany people question if they should wait and see what will happen during the season, whether it will be an early season versus a late season, but I encourage people not to wait and see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barron, one of the top infectious disease experts in Colorado<\/a>, is\u00a0urging people to get their flu vaccines as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year, we try to guess when the flu is going to hit and when we should get our vaccines. Some people wait to get their flu shot until right before Thanksgiving in case they\u2019ll be traveling over the holidays,\u201d said Barron, UCHealth\u2019s senior medical director of infection prevention and control.<\/p>\n

Her advice: \u201cDon\u2019t wait. Get your flu shot now.<\/p>\n

“The flu virus can make you very sick, and it can be debilitating. It affects healthy people and certainly the most vulnerable, young children and older adults. So, think about getting your flu shot to not only protect yourself, but protect those around you,\u201d Barron said.<\/span>
\n

\n

Learn more about the newest COVID-19 vaccines.<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n

Barron reminds people that it takes about two weeks after you get your flu shot for the vaccine to fully take effect.<\/p>\n

Getting your flu shot relatively early is the best way to brace yourself for the season when respiratory illnesses typically ramp up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flu vaccine will protect you for four to six months. If you\u2019re a little off on your timing, that\u2019s fine. Getting your shot early is fine. If you get your shot too late, it just means you\u2019re more at risk of getting the flu,\u201d said Barron, who is also a professor<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0University of Colorado School of Medicine<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We consulted with Barron about the flu season, and she answered some frequently asked questions about the flu and how COVID-19 may affect the flu season.<\/p>\n

When will we know if we\u2019re going to have a bad flu season this year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t really know until it hits us,\u201d Barron said. \u201cI would love for as many people as possible to stay healthy this year. If we get enough people vaccinated and we\u2019re smart, maybe we can do that. But we won\u2019t know exactly what happens with the flu until it starts to spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

How has COVID-19 affected flu seasons in recent years?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced cases of the flu around the world in the early years of the pandemic. Now we’re settling into more typical patterns.<\/p>\n

For instance, cases of whooping cough have risen dramatically in recent years<\/a>, signalling a return to more typical pre-pandemic patterns. During the earliest days of the pandemic, stay-at-home measures and interventions like masking and social distancing reduced cases of COVID-19 and also prevented the spread of the flu.<\/p>\n

Flu cases also are on the rise again.<\/p>\n

Vaccines are the best way to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death. (View data related to flu infections, hospitalizations and deaths.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Barron compares getting vaccines to ramping up for a race.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re training for a marathon, it\u2019s time to start running again. You can\u2019t rest on your laurels. It\u2019s time to log some miles and get your immune system up and ready again because the flu is coming,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n

Can I get both a COVID-19 vaccine and a flu vaccine at the same time?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yes. It\u2019s perfectly safe to get both shots at the same time, Barron said. And that\u2019s really convenient. Many people will want to do exactly that now or in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

If everyone who is eligible to get a flu and COVID-19 shot, gets vaccinated this fall, we could dramatically reduce severe cases of both flu and COVID-19 this fall and winter, Barron said.<\/p>\n

Getting an annual flu and COVID vaccine has become the new normal. And someday, there might be combined vaccines to prevent both.<\/p>\n

When will flu shots be available for the 2025 flu season?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

They are available now. Check with your doctor\u2019s office or your employer or a pharmacy near you, and book an appointment soon.<\/p>\n

When will the new COVID-19 booster shots be available?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The new 2025-26 COVID-19 booster shot<\/a> is available now.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best timing if I\u2019m going to get my flu shot?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Barron advises people to get their flu shots as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet it when you can. Don\u2019t try to time it based on, ‘Oh, I\u2019ll wait, before my big trip.’ Convenience is a big thing. That\u2019s probably more important than anything you\u2019ll gain by trying to time it at a certain time,\u201d Barron said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does the flu vaccine prevent me from getting sick or rather, from severe illness, hospitalization and death?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

No vaccine is perfect. And flu vaccines are especially complex, Barron said. That\u2019s because vaccine makers have to guess in advance which flu strains will be circulating later that year. Then they create a vaccine that they hope will fight the prevailing flu strains.<\/p>\n

During some years, the flu vaccine works better than in other years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an optimal year, you get up to about 80% effectiveness. In other years, the match may be closer to 30%,\u201d Barron said.<\/span><\/p>\n

But even when the annual flu shot is not a perfect match for the prevailing flu variants, getting the flu vaccine can dramatically reduce hospitalizations and deaths from the flu.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt keeps you out of the hospital and it keeps you from dying,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why her advice is quite simple now: \u201cGet your flu vaccine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease protect yourselves,\u201d she said. \u201cFor the past few years, we\u2019ve been focused on COVID, COVID, COVID. But, we also need to focus on the flu. Get your vaccine so you can stay healthy.”<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a myth that the flu shot can give you the flu. What\u2019s the truth about the flu shot and getting the flu?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe flu shot does not give you the flu. The shot does not contain live virus. As with any vaccine, there can be side effects, but those are normal,\u201d Barron said. \u201cIf you get the flu after you get the flu shot, you were going to get it anyway. That\u2019s just a case of bad timing and bad luck. The best way to avoid getting the flu is to get your flu shot as early as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is there a special type of flu shot for older people or those who need an extra boost to their immune system?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cYes. There\u2019s a high-dose flu shot for people over age 65. It\u2019s meant to give you an extra boost to your immune system,\u201d Barron said.<\/p>\n

When you schedule your flu shot with your medical provider, if you are older, you should automatically get the specially formulated shot for older adults. But, of course, it\u2019s wise to ask about which type of flu shot you are getting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vaccines are available now to help prevent severe cases of the flu and COVID-19. Rather than trying to time your vaccines perfectly, it’s best to schedule a visit with your doctor or visit a pharmacy and get your vaccines soon. \u201cA common misconception when it comes to timing your flu shot is to wait until […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2123,"featured_media":78096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[4860,162,4797],"class_list":["post-65494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-living","tag-covid-19","tag-infectious-diseases","tag-seasonal-flu-treatment-and-flu-shots"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBest plan for this flu season? 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