With social distancing, masks, and a greater commitment to cleaning—you might have escaped 2020-2021’s flu season. This is actually a global phenomenon, flu cases dropped dramatically in the past two years. Obviously, that makes sense, we dramatically changed our lifestyles during the pandemic. However, things have slowly been rolling back, meaning the chance for exposure will probably increase. One way to prevent that is the flu vaccine.
While you can get this shot at basically any time of year, it’s best to get it at the beginning of flu season, which is usually runs from October to May. But! Many people were still getting the COVID vaccine during this time period, meaning you might have delayed your flu shot or avoided it entirely. If that’s the case, now is actually the next best time.
We usually see a peak in flu cases in December, meaning now is a great time to give your body the boost it needs to avoid getting sick and spreading it to others. This is especially true if you’re just now getting back into the office, or if your kids are going to school, as these are two of the most common spaces for the flu to spread.
Where Can I get my Flu Shot?
There are dozens of places you can go to get a flu shot. The most convenient is most likely your local pharmacy. Places like Costco, CVS, Rite Aid, Target, Vons, and Walmart all offer immunization services. If you’re uncertain where to go, call ahead and double check (Sidenote: I got mine at Vons and they gave me a 20% off coupon for my groceries!).
Your primary care physician might also have vaccines on site! If you skipped your annual checkup, now’s your chance to get both done in one go!
You can also head to our flu clinics spread all across the county located within any of our public health centers. Check this link for more info.
Why Should I get a Vaccine?
That’s a good question, one that I think often leads people down rabbit holes we don’t have to get into here. The biggest reason to get a vaccine is to protect yourself from getting sick. With the flu vaccine your risk of getting sick goes down dramatically, it also seriously decreases the chance that you’ll have a long-term illness should you get a break-through case (just like the COVID-19 vaccine).
Another huge reason is it keeps you from being contagious! There are a lot of people out there who are immunocompromised due to a medical condition, they often can’t get the vaccine or end up with a weaker dose. People who are immunocompromised really rely on “herd immunity” to help protect them!
You might not know anyone who is immunocompromised off the top of your head, but there are a lot of us (surprise! I’m one of them. But I’m lucky enough to qualify for a flu shot). Individuals with cancer, who recently had surgery, who have chronic health conditions, or who drew the wrong straw when it came to genetics are all people who are immunocompromised. So, odds are you do have someone in your life who is at risk.
All of that sounds pretty worth it to me, but I admit I’m biased! So why else should you get the flu shot? Well, being vaccinated helps prevent you from spreading it to your family and your friends too. Do you want your kid to be out sick from school, or a loved one to miss work? Probably not. Being vaccinated protects them from that possibility.
Take the 15 minutes and the sore arm in order to help yourself and the community!
Get Paid by Aflac to get the Flu Shot
Did you know that if you have the Aflac Accident plan you can get $50 annually just for getting your flu shot? It’s an easy way to make the plan more affordable. This is part of your “wellness” benefits, you can learn more about them here.
Note: If you are planning on getting your COVID booster (which are available now at local pharmacies and doctor offices), you might think that you can’t get both shots at the same time. While that was the prevailing wisdom when the vaccine first became available, experts are now saying you can get both at the same time. Obviously, talk to your doctor and your vaccine technician if you have more questions about that!