Don’t wait for a holiday surge. Now is a good time to get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines

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If you missed the early fall push for flu and COVID-19 vaccines, it’s not too late.

Health officials say it’s important to get vaccinated ahead of the holidays, when respiratory bugs tend to spread with travel and indoor celebrations.

Those viruses haven’t caused much trouble so far this fall. But COVID-19 tends to jump in the winter months, a rise that usually starts around Thanksgiving and peaks in January.

And that coincides with flu season, which tends to start in November or December and peak in January or February.

It takes the body about two weeks to build up immunity after either shot — meaning vaccination is needed before these viruses start spreading. A lot of older adults also need protection against another risky winter virus, RSV.

Yes, you can get your flu and COVID-19 shots at the same time. Don’t call them boosters — they’re not just another dose of last year’s protection. The coronavirus and influenza are escape artists that constantly mutate to evade your body’s immune defenses, so both vaccines are reformulated annually to target newer strains.

While they’re not perfect, vaccinations offer strong protection against a bad case of flu or COVID-19 — or dying from it.

“It may not prevent every infection but those infections are going to be less severe,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I would rather have my grandmother or my great-grandmother have a sniffle than have to go to the emergency room on Thanksgiving.”

Last year, just 45% of adults got a flu vaccination and even fewer, 23%, got a COVID-19 shot.

“Our best defense to protect ourselves, our loved ones and all those around us is a simple shot,” Dr. Bruce A. Scott, president of the American Medical Association, said in a recent statement.

While it may have faded from the headlines, the coronavirus still killed more Americans than flu last year.

Dr. Don García: “You should get vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible”.