A flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu, but only half of adults actually get it. At Triad Internal Medicine in Asheboro, North Carolina, Chelsea Poe, FNP, Kirstie Ferrell, FNP, and Keung Lee, MD, PhD, MHA offers flu shots in the office. Scheduling your flu shot now can help you make it through flu season without severe illness and downtime, so don’t delay any longer. Call the office or schedule an appointment online today.
The flu shot is a vaccination that protects you from a highly contagious virus. Most people get the flu through tiny respiratory droplets that an infected person expels as they cough, sneeze, or speak. You can also get the flu by touching an object or surface with respiratory residue on it.
The flu shot contains a tiny amount of deactivated flu germs. This minimal exposure helps your body recognize those germs when it encounters them. The flu shot also stimulates the growth of antibodies that fight the flu virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends flu shots for all children and adults. Unfortunately, only about half of adults get the flu shot, which helps explain the record-high flu hospitalization in recent seasons.
Triad Internal Medicine reviews your medical history to determine whether you have a life-threatening allergy to any of the ingredients in the flu vaccine.
The flu shot is different every year. It contains different ingredients based on the versions of the flu that experts expect to be most prevalent in the upcoming flu season, so you need the shot once a year.
Schedule your flu shot before the start of the flu season, ideally in September or October. The flu season generally peaks in December, January, and February but can continue for a few months after that. In fact, a significant number of people get the flu as late as May.
If you don’t have a flu shot early in the flu season, you can still schedule it anytime. However, the best protection occurs with September and October flu shots.
The flu shot is usually a painless process that only takes a few minutes out of your day. It doesn’t give you the flu, but you might experience some minor symptoms like body aches and low-grade fever for a day or two. Generally, symptoms aren’t so severe that they disrupt your daily life.
Flu shots are the best way to gain powerful protection against highly contagious strains of flu. Call Triad Internal Medicine or schedule your flu shot online today.