Learn more about the flu vaccine
In this month’s Get Fit Club article, we are going to take a look at the Influenza vaccine.
What is the Influenza vaccine and why is it important to get a flu vaccine EVERY year?
Influenza (flu) vaccines, often called “flu shots,” are vaccines that protect against influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. Flu viruses are constantly changing, so flu vaccines may be updated from one season to the next to protect against the viruses that research suggests will be common during the upcoming flu season.
The 2024-2025 Influenza vaccine will be a trivalent vaccine. Trivalent flu vaccines protect against three different influenza viruses. Trivalent flu vaccines in the United States will include vaccine viruses or viral proteins from one influenza A (H1N1), one influenza A (H3N2) virus, and one influenza B/Victoria lineage virus.
Who should get a flu vaccine and why?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older in the United States should get a flu vaccine every season. This includes pregnant women and people with certain chronic health conditions. Vaccinating pregnant women helps protect them from flu illness and hospitalization, and also has been shown to help protect the baby from flu infection for several months after birth, before the baby can be vaccinated. Flu vaccination has been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease. Flu vaccination does have important benefits. It can reduce flu like illnesses, visits to doctor’s offices, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as make symptoms less severe and reduce flu-related hospitalizations and deaths in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.
When should you get vaccinated against the flu?
For most people who need only one dose of influenza vaccine for the season, September and October are generally good times to be vaccinated against the flu. Ideally, everyone should be vaccinated by the end of October. If you are unable to receive your vaccination by the end of October, that’s ok; the CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine as soon as you can, even as late as April, May and June of the next year. Flu has been noted to still be active in late Spring.
Is the flu vaccine safe?
Flu vaccines have a good safety record. Hundreds of millions of Americans have safely received flu vaccines over the past 50 years. Extensive research supports the safety of seasonal flu vaccines. Each year, CDC works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other partners to ensure the highest safety standards for flu vaccines.
What are the side effects of the flu vaccine?
Flu shots are made using killed flu viruses (for inactivated vaccines), or only contains parts of the flu viruses (for the recombinant vaccine). So, you cannot get flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects that may occur include soreness, redness and/or swelling where the shot was given, low grade fever, and aches. If these problems occur, they are usually mild and go away on their own. Almost all people who receive flu vaccine have no serious problems from it.
Have you received your 2024-2055 Annual Influenza Vaccine?
For more information, please see highlights of the 2024 Flu Vaccine Program