Should You Get Your Flu Shot This Week?
Even if it's already available at your local pharmacy, experts say to wait a bit longer
by Kathleen Fifield, AARP, August 27, 2018 | Comments: 5
As the signs at your local pharmacy tell it, it's time to get your flu shot! But is doing so now a good idea, or kind of like buying Halloween candy before Labor Day?
“August is a bit early, particularly for people who are older and have some compromise to their immune systems,†says William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases. Given evidence showing that the influenza protection you receive wanes toward the end of the season, as antibodies diminish, getting a shot now means you likely would not have the strongest level of protection left for the “worst part of flu season,†which tends to be in February and March.
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2018/best-flu-shot-schedule.html