It’s Important to Get Your Child’s Flu Shot Early This Year

It’s always a good idea to have your child get a flu shot every year, but this year is different than most years, we’re amid a pandemic. This is why it is so important to get your child’s flu shot early!

The flu brings with it a host of respiratory problems and runny noses, many of which are shared by COVID-19, which is why the AAP recommends getting the flu shot early this year. You don’t want your child to obtain both the flu and COVID-19 at the same time.

Flu season typically runs from October through May, so it is recommended that everyone has their shot before the end of October. This gets the body prepared with the antibodies that protect it from obtaining the flu. Even if you can’t get it sooner than that, getting it later is better than not getting it at all.

The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of six months gets the flu shot, and especially those with health complications.

No, you can’t “catch” the flu from the flu shot, the flu shot does not contain a live flu virus as opposed to the nasal spray which has a live virus. There are some side effects associated with the flu shot however, these include:

• soreness, redness, or swelling at the injection site
• a low-grade fever
• body aches

This year, children who are under the age of nine, and who have never received the flu vaccine before will need two doses. The doses will be given about four weeks apart. If a child under the age of nine has only received the flu vaccine once, they too will need the flu vaccine two times as well, for peak efficacy this year. Peak immunity should occur two weeks after the vaccine is given.