Health officials warned that they expect a severe winter flu season and urged the country to get flu shots along with the newest COVID booster shot.
Australia and other Southern Hemisphere countries are currently experiencing severe flu seasons and the U.S. is anticipated to have a record flu season as cases within the northern regions proceed to extend, prompting the warning and proposals come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The most recent COVID booster from Pfizer is allowed for people 12-years-old and older and the Moderna shot is allowed for people 18 and older.
The nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said that the booster shots may likely have to be administered annually because COVID variants emerge and vaccination protection wanes.
The once-a-year schedule, health experts imagine, would allow the booster and the flu shot to be administered at the identical time.
The rollout of the upgraded COVID booster began earlier this month and its widely available in pharmacies healthcare clinics and doctor’s offices.
Health experts say that getting the COVID booster and flu shot at the identical time is protected and lots of locations are promoting the 2 shots directly.
Booster shots must be administered a minimum of two months after that last vaccine dose or most up-to-date booster shot, the CDC said. The agency also recommends that individuals wait a minimum of three months before getting the booster in the event that they have tested positive for the virus recently.
“It’s clear that whether you are vaccinated, or you have had COVID, for those who get this booster, you’ll get much higher levels of antibody and so they are thought to assist us get more prolonged protection,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor within the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN.
“The opposite thing that happens is that the immune system responds more broadly, and it looks as if we’ll get more broad coverage against other variants,” he added.
Flu shots are being advisable by the CDC in the identical schedule as last influenza season, with shots administered in September and October. The agency said on its website that everybody 6 months or older should get the flu shot every season, especially those which can be at high risk for complications from influenza including individuals which can be 65 or older, have chronic health conditions, or are pregnant.
“The perfect time is throughout the month of October and possibly the primary couple of weeks of November – and the rationale I say that’s, particularly for older people and people who find themselves frail, that may help their protection extend well through February into March, and that is when flu often peaks in the US in February,” Schaffner told the news outlet. “Everyone ages 6 months and older should get influenza vaccine.”
Unintended effects from the flu vaccine, based on the CDC, can include soreness, redness or swelling on the vaccine site, low-grade headache, fever, muscle aches, nausea, and fatigue. Nasal spray doses can even include symptoms of runny nose, headache, sore throat, and cough in adults. Children might also experience vomiting, muscle aches, low-grade fever, and wheezing.
The uncomfortable side effects from a COVID booster shot can vary from individual to individual, with essentially the most common symptoms, including fever, headache, fatigue, and pain on the injection.
COVID and flu symptoms are similar. The CDC says that a one that has COVID can have symptoms for 2 to 14 days, while the flu typically lasts one to 4 days after infection.
The flu and COVID share symptoms equivalent to fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty respiratory, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle pain or body aches, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, or change or lack of taste smell.