AUSTIN, Texas — Flu season is approaching, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging everyone six months and older to get their updated flu and COVID-19 vaccination.
Dr. Ryan McCorkle, an emergency department physician at St. David's Medical Center, said September and October are the perfect time to get vaccinated. Both the flu and COVID-19 booster shots can be administered together.
"There were some new recommendations from the Academy of Pediatrics saying that maybe kids should get an early vaccine in July or August and then get revaccinated later in the season. We're past that now. We're ready for everybody, six months and older to get their flu vaccine, as well as an updated COVID vaccine and you can get them together. So this is the time to do it. Go out there, get it done," McCorkle said.
A new COVID-19 booster was recently rolled out, amidst the emergence of a new variant. McCorkle said he's seen many more cases that haven't been as severe compared to the past, but health officials are seeing more people becoming sick.
"So, getting that new booster can help a lot with having it be even more mild and a lot shorter course. Kids at six months to two years is the age where kids get the most ill and end up in the hospital, the most with pneumonia if they don't get vaccinated. If you're on chemotherapy, or maybe have an immune deficiency disease or if you're over 65. Those are also increased risk factors for ending up in the hospital, getting pneumonia and having a more complicated case of either the new COVID variant or influenza. So [for those] folks, it's extremely important to get their flu vaccine," McCorkle said.
There can be side effects from vaccinations, including some mild flu-like symptoms for a day or two. Body aches, low grade fevers and fatigue are common. McCorkle said he tries to remind his patients that despite the side effects, getting the vaccinations are a good thing.
"That is your body ramping up its immune response, cranking out those antibodies to be prepared for if you are exposed to the flu or the COVID-19 variant at some point in the future," McCorkle said. "This is our only line of defense, getting your vaccine is the one thing you can do, and do it as soon as possible so that we don't have a really bad flu season this year."