Flu season is starting about a month early this year and cases are rising fast in both the US and UK. With a two-week lag between vaccination and full protection, the time for your flu shot is NOW! And the vaccine is a good match to circulating strains this year.
Flu transmission dropped dramatically due to COVID-19 precautions the last two years. Detected levels (and deaths) were practically nil in 2020 and 2021.
This year, like many respiratory pathogens, the flu may be making up for lost time.
(OK the flu virus doesn’t really strategize like that, but it does have a bigger pool of “susceptibles” who haven’t been recently infected, as well as benefiting from our renewed enthusiasm for social contact).
The Southern hemisphere is often our early warning system for the flu season, and indeed it was a particularly bad season.
There is A LOT of respiratory crud going around, as any parent of young children will tell you right now. While we don’t have vaccines for all of these bugs (yet!), we can dramatically reduce the chances of infection and severe disease for both influenza and COVID-19 through vaccination. Both vaccines are available and recommended for ages 6 months and older. Sadly kids die every year from the flu, but this is preventable!
So… run don’t walk to get that flu shot for you and the family. This Nerdy Girl (Jenn) just got hers this past weekend. 
AND….pick up the new bivalent COVID booster if you haven’t already.
You can get them at the same time. Let’s use the miraculous tools we have to keep this winter as safe as possible!
Stay safe, stay well.
Those Nerdy Girls
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