TAMPA, Fla. — You may have already seen the signs at your local pharmacy saying that flu shots are available and you've thought to yourself, "It's way too early for that!". You'd be wrong.
Nancy Epps, R.N., B.S.N. at Tampa General Hospital is better known as a flu shot expert. She says September is the ideal time to get a flu shot because you want to be protected before everyone around you is getting sick. By then it may just be too late.
In Florida, peak flu season is actually January through February where as it usually peaks December nationwide. Epps says the antibodies you create after getting the flu vaccine protect you for about six months, so you'll be covered before the spread of the flu and through peak season if you're vaccinated in September.
"We get a lot of people that say 'I'm a healthy individual, I don't need the flu shot' but you're in contact with a lot of people it could really endanger and cause them a lot of complications," says Epps. She recommends the shot based off the CDC. Anyone older than six months should get the shot. People who are most at risk of getting the flu are between the ages of six months and 5 years old, over the age of 65, pregnant women and anyone with a pre-existing condition that lowers their immune system.
"Also remember, the flu vaccine is not 100 percent effective," says Epps. She does say that even if you do get sick after getting the flu shot, having the vaccine will help decrease the effects of flu symptoms.
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