The 2025-26 flu shot has been out since early fall, but it’s still not too late to get yours.
“It’s not too late to get the flu shot!” Dr. Mubeen Mandani of the Northside Hospital Diagnostic Clinic said. “The flu shot takes about two weeks to fully build up immunity, which is why we recommend to get it as soon as flu season starts (say in September or October). However, flu season can persist into the new year, and often times cases will still be reported in the springtime.
“As such, there is still plenty of benefit to getting the flu shot late in the year.”
Here are more things to know about flu this year from Dr. Mandani:
1. There are three main strains of flu in this year’s shot.
The most common strain of flu so far this year is influenza A (H3N2), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is one of the strands of inactivated flu inside the shot, along with influenza A (H1N1) and influenza B (Victoria).
2. It’s recommended most people get the shot.
The CDC recommends everyone get an annual flu shot if they are at least 6 months old. “If you have an immunocompromising condition or are pregnant, then you should not get the live vaccine — the most popular one is a nasal mist — but you can still get the inactive vaccine (the traditional flu shot,” Dr. Mandani said. People who’ve had an allergic reaction in the past, or who have certain neurologic conditions like Guillain-Barré syndrome, right after getting the shot.
Dr. Mandani said an egg allergy is no longer considered a contraindication to getting the shot.
3. The flu shot reduces risk of serious effects from the illness.
The effective rates of the shot are usually around 40% to 60%. “Even if this doesn’t seem like a high number, getting the flu shot has shown to greatly reduce its spread as well as greatly reduce one’s chances of flu-related hospitalizations and death,” Dr. Mandani said.
4. The shot can’t cause the flu.
A common misconception is taking a flu shot will give a person a case of the flu. Dr. Mandani said the shot contains inactivated parts of the influenza virus, so it cannot cause the flu itself. The symptoms people feel after getting the shot, such as fatigue and muscle pains, are the body reacting by building up an immune response, Dr. Mandani said. He said the body does that through inflammation, which is why people can feel these symptoms after any vaccination.
5. There’s a right answer about getting the COVID-19 booster at the same time as the flu shot.
If you do choose to get the booster at the same time, ask to have it and the flu shot given in different arms. “It’s recommended to get one in each arm, as it will likely be beneficial to take it easy for the day and manage any side effects such as fatigue and arm pain with medications like Tylenol,” Dr. Mandani said.
Finally, Dr. Mandani said getting the flu shot is about more than protecting yourself. He said it can help prevent and reduce transmission to others, which can protect your family and community.
“While the flu shot itself is not 100% effective at preventing someone from getting the flu,” he said, “it does a phenomenal job of reducing serious complications such as hospitalizations, severe pneumonia and death.”
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