Flu Season Is Coming: Why This Year’s Shot Is Worth Your Time
The leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, and flu season is just around the corner. Here’s a quick guide on how to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Flu is not just a bad cold. It’s a serious respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus. Symptoms include fever or chills, head and body aches, fatigue, sore throat, cough, headache, runny or stuffy nose, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Catching the flu can mean feeling sick for up to two weeks, plus it can lead to pneumonia or worsen conditions like asthma, diabetes, and heart disease.
The flu season can begin as early as October and sometimes lasts until May. For last year’s 2025–2026 season, the CDC estimates 24,000 deaths from the flu and related complications, along with at least 32 million illnesses and 380,000 hospitalizations.
Last winter’s flu was a particularly difficult season because a new flu strain arrived after the 2025 flu shot had already been made, meaning the shot wasn’t a perfect match. This year’s vaccine has been updated to include that strain. No one can predict exactly how this winter will go, but this year’s shot looks to be a better match for the current flu viruses.
Nearly everyone age 6 months and older should get a flu shot every year, because the viruses change and protection fades over time. It’s especially important for adults 65 and older, pregnant women, young children, and people with chronic health conditions. Your shot also protects others, like newborns who are too young to be vaccinated and grandparents who may be prone to more serious illness.
Getting the flu shot doesn’t guarantee that you won’t get sick, but it often makes the flu milder and shorter, and it lowers your chances of ending up in the hospital. Last season, even when the match wasn’t ideal, the shot still cut hospitalizations by about half in children and about a quarter in adults.
The best time to receive the flu vaccine is September or October, so now is the perfect time to make an appointment. It takes about two weeks to achieve full protection, and flu typically picks up in the late fall and winter.
You cannot get the flu from a flu shot. However, you may experience side effects, which are a sign that your immune system is doing its job, creating antibodies to fight off the small amount of foreign material in your body from the injection. Most side effects are mild and short-lived. They may include:
- A sore, red, or swollen arm
- Low-grade fever
- Headache or muscle aches
- Feeling tired for a day or two
Serious allergic reactions are very rare. If you’ve ever had a severe reaction to a vaccine, talk with your provider first.
Flu shots are available at your doctor’s office and local pharmacies. In addition to getting the shot, practice these common-sense strategies to keep healthy during flu season:
- Wash hands often with soap and water, or an alcohol-based rub if soap and water are not available. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth, which spreads germs.
- Disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated.
- If experiencing flu-like symptoms, stay home at least 24 hours after your fever is gone (without the use of fever-reducing medicines) except to get medical care or for other necessities.
- Limit contact with others as much as possible while sick. You’re not doing your colleagues any favors by spreading flu to your workplace.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and dispose of the tissue in the trash after use.
If you think you may have the flu, call your doctor or visit MarinHealth Urgent Care early. There are prescription antiviral drugs available, but they work best if started within the first two days of the illness.
