By Paul Goldfinger, MD, FACC. Editor Blogfinger.net Ocean Grove, NJ, USA:
As a double board certified doctor I have occasionally given medical advice on Blogfinger, but only when I was sure of that advice. In the case of vaccination during flu season, I urge you to follow the AMA guidelines. (below). I almost never post the opinions of others verbatim , but in this case I want you hear it from the horses’ mouths:
AT A GLANCE: Influenza can cause serious illness, but vaccination can help protect you and those around you. Here are key things you will learn about flu vaccination from family physicians Carlos Galindo, MD, and Christopher Zipp, DO, in this AMA article:
- Everyone 6 months or older should get a flu vaccine each year.
- September and October are ideal times to get vaccinated, but it is still worthwhile to get a flu shot later in the season if the virus is still circulating.
- Flu vaccination can lower your risk of illness and help make symptoms less severe if you do get influenza.
- You cannot get flu from an injected influenza vaccine.
- Flu, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines can also be given at the same visit.
- If you develop flu symptoms, contact your doctor the same day, especially if you are at higher risk for complications, because treatment may help shorten the illness.Influenza can be easy to underestimate until flu season arrives—which typically runs from October through May—and illnesses, missed work and school, and hospitalizations begin to climb.
- While some people recover within several days, flu can lead to serious complications, particularly for people who are at higher risk of severe illness. That is why it is important for everyone to use the tools we have available to mitigate infection and illness, including getting the flu vaccination. Everyone six months or older is recommended to get an influenza vaccine to reduce the risk of severe outcomes.
- During the 2025-2026 flu season, influenza caused at least 32 million illnesses, 390,000 hospitalizations and 24,000 deaths in the U.S., according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For the 2024–2025 flu season, the CDC estimated that flu vaccination prevented about 10 million flu-related illnesses in the U.S., 5 million medical visits, 185,000 hospitalizations and 12,000 deaths.However, “you can get the flu any time. You can get it all year round, but people think of it as the beginning of winter with a kickoff sometime between December and February, and then it lasts for a few months,” Dr. Zipp explained. “It is not uncommon for us to continue to vaccinate people all the way through March, even early April because people can still get flu.
- ”When it comes to symptoms of influenza, it often includes “fever, chills and body aches. That’s your classic clinical triad,” Dr. Galindo said. “But you can also have sore throat, runny nose and headache.”Over a couple of hours, all of a sudden you get these systemic symptoms—you get a fever, chills and body aches—and it can lead to pneumonia and hospitalization,” said Dr. Zipp. “That’s what we really worry about quite a bit, especially people with underlying medical conditions. That’s one of the reasons why it is important that everybody gets a flu shot.”It is safe to get the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 vaccines at the same visit to your doctor or pharmacy.
- Coadministration of vaccines is common practice. You may experience slightly more localized soreness, mild fatigue, headache, or a low-grade fever when getting more than one vaccine at a time.“There’s no contraindication to getting those all at the same time,” said Dr. Galindo. “I tell patients, ‘If you choose to do that you may want to get them in different arms, but there’s no problem getting them all at the same time.”The general recommendation is to “get vaccinated around September or October,” said Dr. Galindo. “You can get the flu vaccine before then, but you want to time it such that you get it in September or October because from the time of administration of the vaccine to the time you actually have clinical protection is about two weeks.“There’s a little lag time there,” he added. “Then you want to have your defenses ready so that when January, February, March hit, you’re ready to go. If you go too early, those immune antibodies can wane over time, so timing is of the essence.”
- If you miss that September, October window, it’s not too late, though, noted Dr. Galindo. “I always tell patients it’s better to be late than never, especially in older individuals who have comorbid conditions, autoimmune disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. It’s always best to have it even if you’re out of that window.”“Now there are some people who need to get it a little earlier. If you’re immunocompromised or you have chronic health conditions that put you at a higher risk, then I would say be in the earlier cohort,” Dr. Zipp said. “But don’t get it too early because then your immunity wanes.”
Ultimately, though, “October is a great month to get your flu shot. Get it done by Halloween,” he recommended.
As a general rule, everyone 6 months or older should get the flu vaccine,” Dr. Galindo said, noting it is especially important for “young children, adults over 50, people who are pregnant, individuals with comorbid conditions and people who are caregivers to get a flu shot.”
“There are people with some medical conditions that cannot mount an immune response—their immune system doesn’t work. They can’t have it,” Dr. Zipp said. “Otherwise, everyone should have it.”
While the flu vaccine is recommended for 6 months or older, the nasal spray is generally recommended for ages 2 through 49 “because those individuals are not very young and they’re not very old,” Dr. Galindo said, noting “there are some caveats in terms of who can get the nasal spray.”
“You certainly don’t want to give it to pregnant women, children ages 2 to 4 who have asthma or underlying lung issues, if you’re immunocompromised or taking aspirin, if you have cochlear implants or any type of spinal fluid conditions,” he explained. “There is a theoretical risk that the nasal spray—which technically is a live weakened version of the virus—can be potentially harmful to those populations.”
“If a patient absolutely refuses the shot because they have a terrible fear of needles, then there’s a nasal spray flu vaccine,” Dr. Zipp added.
Beyond getting the influenza vaccine, there are other ways to prevent flu and “it’s what our parents taught us: washing our hands,” Dr. Galindo said. “All it takes to inoculate yourself is to touch a doorknob that has viral particle from somebody who may have coughed or sneezed on it before.”
“You touch your eyes, your nose, and there you go, you’re inoculated,” he said. “So, always wash your hands, cover your coughs and sneezes, and be conservative if you feel sick and just stay home. Not only are you helping yourself, you’re helping others.”
Additionally, “if you come down with flu, clean the areas that you use that are general to other people in your household. Wipe down the kitchen counters after you use it and the bathroom,” Dr. Galindo said, noting that it is also important to “get plenty of sleep, try to eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated.”
- This link from the American College of Cardiology on Blogfinger one year ago:
