The Flu Shot Will Be More Important Than Ever This Year—Here’s When to Get Yours

Korin Miller, Alexis Jones
·6 min read
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The Flu Shot Will Be More Important Than Ever This Year—Here’s When to Get Yours


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The 2021 flu season is going to be a little different this year. Previously, sniffles and a cough were automatically thought of as a sign of the common cold or influenza. But now, they can also be symptoms of COVID-19.

Even as COVID-19 continues to spread around the country, it’s crucial to be wary of the flu. Here’s the thing: Flu season was practically non-existent last year because most of the country was under lockdown and following COVID-19 prevention measures. Given that COVID-19 prevention measures also reduce the risk of the spread of the flu, we just didn’t see that many flu cases last year, says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

That being said, it’s easy to get lax on flu prevention measures—but doctors say that’s really not a good idea. “We don’t know what this flu season will bring, but it’s still important to get vaccinated against influenza to be prepared,” says Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University. The flu could come back with a vengeance or we could have another mild season, he says—and there’s no way for experts to know at this point.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also has this warning on its website: “Reduced population immunity due to lack of flu virus activity since March 2020 could result in an early and possibly severe flu season.”

Keep in mind, too, that previous flu seasons have been very serious, and even deadly. During the 2019-2020 flu season, up to 22,000 people died due to flu complications, while up to 400,000 people were hospitalized, according to estimates from the CDC.

Typically, flu season ramps up in the fall and lasts until the end of April, sometimes into May. That’s why it’s so important to get vaccinated each year: Circulating flu viruses constantly change from year to year, and getting the flu shot is your best first-line defense against getting sick.

In fact, the flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of going to the doctor with the flu by 40 to 60%. A 2018 study also found that, from 2012 to 2015, flu vaccines among adults reduced flu-related hospitalizations to the intensive care unit by 82%.

That’s why it’s especially crucial to get the flu shot as COVID-19 continues to circulate, says infectious disease expert Dr. Adalja says. Flu cases “compete with the same resources,” like ICU beds and medical personnel, he explains. While the flu shot isn’t perfect at preventing the flu, the CDC says it can lower your risk of developing a serious case of the virus that requires hospitalization. “The more room we have in our hospitals to take care of COVID-19 patients, the better,” Dr. Adalja says.

So, when is the best time to get the flu shot in 2020?

The best time to get the flu shot (or nasal spray, depending on what your doctor recommends) is as soon as the vaccine is available, which is often by the end of August in many parts of the country, says Lisa Maragakis, M.D., M.P.H., senior director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins Health System.

The CDC is currently recommending that everyone gets vaccinated against the flu by the end of October. “That’s really so you get the shot before the flu starts circulating widely and gives your body time to react to the vaccine and build up immunity,” says Dr. Maragakis. You can get vaccinated through January or even later, as long as the flu virus is still circulating, but the earlier the better.

Plus, there’s no way to predict what this year’s strain will bring. “We never really know what to expect from any given flu season except that we know we’ll have one,” says Dr. Maragakis. Their best estimates come from looking at the southern hemisphere and what happened during their flu season. Check out all of the strains being targeted by

this year’s vaccine here.

Can you still get the flu after getting the vaccine?

Despite common misconceptions, the flu shot will not give you the flu. It’s not a live virus vaccine and can’t make you sick, says Dr. Maragarkis. “When you get a vaccine, it’s really triggering your immune system to respond so that it learns how to fight off the influenza virus and can protect you,” she explains.

That’s why you may feel some side effects after getting the flu shot—such as muscle aches, low-grade fever, or headaches—but they typically go away within a few days.

It’s also very possible to get sick from something other than the flu after you get vaccinated. “A fair number of people get the flu vaccine, and it just so happens that they caught something else around the time and they link the two things together in their minds,” says Dr. Maragakis.

Plus, it takes your body roughly two weeks to build up enough antibodies to fend off influenza—and there’s always a chance you could catch the flu before your vaccine really takes effect. That’s why getting the flu shot as soon as you can is so crucial.

But yes, unfortunately, it’s possible to get the flu after you’ve had the flu shot—but that doesn’t mean it didn’t work. The vaccine “will help prevent severe illness and hospitalization, even if you are unlucky and become infected with the flu after having the flu vaccine,” Dr. Watkins says.

Unfortunately, no. While COVID-19 has been compared to the flu, especially in the symptoms it can produce, they are not the same. “They’re two different viruses from two different viral families,” Dr. Adalja says.

When the COVID-19 vaccine first came out, public health officials recommended spacing out the vaccine from other vaccines to make sure the shots would work properly and to mitigate possible side effects. But now, the CDC says that you’re just fine to get both your flu vaccine and COVID-19 shot at the same time. The same is true whether you’re getting a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, or other doses.

There is only a small list of people who should not get the flu vaccine. Everyone who is able to get the flu shot (generally those 6 months or older) should get vaccinated—not only for your own health, but also for those around you.

It’s especially important for those at high risk of flu complications, including children aged 6 months through four years old, pregnant women, people older than 50, immunosuppressed individuals, and those with chronic diseases, the CDC says. Keep in mind that many people who are high risk for developing a serious case of the flu are also considered high risk for severe complications of COVID-19, Dr. Adalja says.

Here’s a list of places where you can get your flu shot for little to no cost:

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Can the flu shot prevent COVID-19?

Can you get the flu shot and COVID-19 vaccine at the same time?

Who should get the flu shot?

Where can you get the flu shot?

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