Get Your Flu Shot Now

Our supply of this year’s flu vaccine is in at Doctors Express of Timonium. I recommend that you get your flu shot as soon as you can.

Here’s why:

·         It takes about two weeks after getting the vaccine for the body to develop the antibodies that will help fight off the flu, so getting the shot in September will help you be ready when the flu hits.

·         The effects of the vaccine wear off from season to season. Just because you got a flu shot last year, doesn’t mean you’re protected this year.

·         Each year, researchers determine which strains to include in the vaccine based on predictions about the upcoming season, to best match the vaccine with the particular viruses that are in circulation.

·         Getting the vaccine not only helps you fight the flu, but it also protects the people around you—especially elderly family and friends, and those with weakened immune systems. You may think that you don’t need the shot because you’re healthy. But if you spread the flu to others who are less equipped to fight it, influenza can become deadly. You can even be infected (and contagious) without exhibiting symptoms.

Remember, you can’t contract the flu from the vaccine. The viruses in the vaccine are killed, so they are effective in helping the body build antibodies but do not have the strength to actually give you the flu.

Be careful not to confuse the flu and the common cold. The flu can be a much more serious illness. Symptoms often include sore throat, cough, headache, body aches, fatigue, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last year’s flu season was particularly severe, with thousands of deaths in the United States, including 158 children. So protect yourself and the people around you by getting your flu shot now.

Be well!