JUST A LITTLE POKE. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine, with rare exceptions.

Help prevent flu this season and roll up your sleeve for your annual flu vaccine. This fall and winter, flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 may both spread.

Fortunately, the 2020-21 flu season did not see much flu activity. People were staying “Safer at Home” and mask mandates were in place because of COVID-19. This season, however, not as many people are staying home and not as many people are masking.

Because COVID-19 is still a relatively new illness, we have little information about how flu illness might affect a person’s risk of getting COVID-19. We do know that people can be infected with flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 at the same time. While it’s unclear what impact COVID-19 will have on the flu season, it is very clear that a flu shot is the best protection against flu in the same way that a COVID-19 vaccine is the best protection against COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines are not designed to protect against flu and flu vaccines do not protect against the virus that causes COVID-19.

Protect yourself, your family, and your community against the flu this year and roll up your sleeve for a flu shot. It’s more important than ever.