Some of the major drugstore chains, including CVS and Walgreens, were encouraging people to get flu shots as early as August, when this year’s vaccine first became readily available.
But people who got their flu shots more than a month ago should consider getting a booster shot before the peak of the season to make sure they’re protected, said Kindy Ghussin, a pharmacist and owner of Heartland Pharmacy in Kettering.
“It’s smart to get the vaccine early, but not too early,” Ghussin said. “You don’t want to get it too early because the potency of the vaccine is going to wear off after about four or five months, and that’s when the flu season will really hit hard.”
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Getting vaccinated decreases the risk of becoming infected by exposing the immune system to flu viruses that have been rendered harmless but still signal the body to produce antibodies to fight off infection.
The vaccine does not cause flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is warning people not to delay getting vaccinated because of such common misconceptions.
The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, and warns not to procrastinate because flu outbreaks can occur at any time during the season, although current flu activity is low across the country.
It takes about two weeks after vaccination for protection to set in, according to the CDC, which notes flu is most dangerous for elderly people, children and people with compromised immune systems.
The 2015-2016 flu season in Ohio was relatively mild with 3,691 flu-related hospitalizations reported and one flu-related death of a child. By comparison, there were six flu-related pediatric deaths in the 2014-2015 season, and 9,374 flu-related hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), which each year tracks flu activity on a weekly basis from October through May.
ODH has not yet reported flu activity for the first week of October this year.
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