get both vaccines,” Schaffner says. “This year, we’re asking everyone to roll up both sleeves.”
Not only is it safe to get both shots, but it’s safe to get them both during the same visit to your doctor, pharmacy or health clinic, he adds.
“It is safe and it is OK to give both vaccines simultaneously, if you choose to do that,” Schaffner says. “If you choose to spread them out, there’s no required interval between the two. You can get one today and the next one tomorrow if you choose. But I always remind people that a vaccine postponed is, unfortunately, often a vaccine never received, so you’re going to have to be mindful and diligent about getting both.”
How much cash will I need to shell out for a shot?
Medicare, Medicaid and most private health insurance plans cover flu shots as a free preventive health measure, Schaffner says. The cost of a vaccination is far less than the cost of an ER visit or hospitalization due to influenza.
People without insurance can get a free flu shot from their local health department.
Should seniors get the flu shot? What about pregnant women or young children?
People 65 and older are at higher risk for contracting severe influenza, which can lead to potentially fatal complications like pneumonia. Influenza also increases an older person’s risk for heart attack and stroke.
This year, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the first time specifically recommended three high-powered flu vaccines for seniors. These vaccines are specially designed to provide a more powerful immune response.
“If you look back at people age 65 and older who received [the] flu vaccine last year and the year before and the year before that, already 80% of that population was receiving one of these three vaccines, so medical practice had been moving in that direction in a steady way already,” Schaffner says.
“But this year for the first time they’ve said the data are now sufficient that you should get one of these vaccines if you are 65 and older, and get the standard vaccine only if one of these vaccines is not available,” he adds.
Expectant moms also should get the vaccine, both to protect themselves from pregnancy complications caused by influenza and to give their newborns early protection.
“A number of studies now have shown with great conclusiveness that influenza vaccine administered during pregnancy is safe both for the mom and for the baby,” Schaffner shares.
He noted that pregnant women who get the flu have complication rates that are comparable to those among senior citizens.
“In other words, there is increased risk of the complications of influenza simply because of their pregnancy status,” he notes.
“Further, the antibodies created by the lungs actually cross the placenta and go into the newborn, and they help protect the newborn during the first 4 to 6 months of the newborn’s life,” Schaffner says. “So by vaccinating the pregnant woman, you protect not only her, but you protect that newborn baby. It’s a two-fer.”
Children become eligible for flu shots at 6 months of age. These shots can be lifesaving for children, the CDC says. A 2022 study found the flu vaccine reduces a kid’s risk of life-threatening influenza by 75%, while a 2020 study found that flu vaccine reduces flu-related hospitalization by 41% among children.
What side effects should I expect? Will the shot give me the flu?
“It is an extraordinarily persistent urban and rural myth that you can get the flu from the flu vaccine,” Schaffner says. “That simply is biologically impossible. It cannot happen.”
People often think they’ve gotten the flu from their vaccination because the shot’s side effects are similar to those of a case of influenza, he notes.
“Some people do get a little bit of headache, maybe even get a degree of fever and feel out of sorts for a day,” Schaffner notes. “That’s not flu. That’s your body responding to the vaccine.”
Other common side effects from the shot are a sore arm and some redness or swelling at the injection site, Schaffner adds.