Every year, a new variation of influenza (aka the “flu”) rounds the globe, causing uncomfortable symptoms and serious complications, especially in babies, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. However, anyone can be affected by the flu. And anyone can develop complications, especially with an increased surge in COVID this fall.
Flu season generally begins in October, then peaks around December-January. The earlier in the season you get your flu shot, the more likely you’ll be protected when exposed to the virus.
Kimberly Bolling, MD, an expert and caring internist in Bowie, Maryland, wants you, your family, your friends, and your acquaintances to stay flu-free this season. Here’s why she recommends getting this year’s flu shot ASAP.
Some medical professionals fear that 2022 will bring a “twindemic” due to a surge in flu cases along with continued COVID mutations. Lockdown and mask wearing helped keep the flu at bay for the last two years. But since lockdown’s ended and people circulate in public mask-free, contagion is inevitable.
Even with reduced public circulation, the flu vaccine prevented about 7.5 million influenza illnesses in 2019-2020. Flu shots also make flu symptoms milder, if you do get infected.
Babies and children may never have been exposed to the flu before this year, due to lockdowns and limits on public gatherings, so their immune systems haven’t had to fight a flu virus before. Now that kids are back in schools, too, they’ll be infecting one another and their own families if they’re not vaccinated.
Medical professionals have noted that this year’s flu surfaced earlier than normal, which could signal bad times to come. Also, due to the political divisions that prevented some people from getting COVID vaccines, fewer people are getting the flu shot than normal. The fewer people protected, the more virulent the effects of the virus.
Your immune system needs about two weeks to react to the vaccine and build up an immune response to this year’s variant. That’s why the earlier you get the flu shot the more likely you are to avoid the flu … as long as you don’t get it too early, such as in the summer. If you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, call us today.
Even though you may have gotten a flu shot last year, you need one this year, too. Like COVID, flu viruses mutate. Last year’s flu isn’t this year's flu, which is why the shot that protected you a year ago won’t help you now.
The more people who receive a flu shot, the less able the influenza virus is able to move through a population. When you get a flu shot, you protect your own health but also that of your kids, loved ones, friends, and colleagues.
In most instances, your flu shot is free, even if you don’t have private insurance. Flu shots not only protect you individually, they protect our entire community and country.
The flu shot strengthens your immune system so that you can fight influenza when you’re exposed to it. But it confers some other unexpected benefits for people with health challenges, too, such as:
A flu shot may save your life, especially if you have an underlying chronic condition, including autoimmune disorders.
It’s not too late to get this year’s flu shot, but the sooner you do it the sooner that you, your family, and your community will be protected. Book a flu shot today at 301-352-0090 or request an appointment online.
