Why getting your flu shot this year is crucial
Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — October is the time to prepare for the holidays and upcoming flu season with a flu shot.
Dr. Tamara Sheffield, senior medical director for preventive medicine at Intermountain Healthcare said looking at the recent flu season in Australia can give us an idea of what to expect here.
“What we’ve seen in the Southern Hemisphere is an early start to the influenza season and a much more severe season than we have had in many years,” Sheffield said.
Those six months and older are eligible for the flu vaccine. Sheffield said that this year, the Centers for Disease Control recommended that those 65 and older get the Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent, Flublok Quadrivalent, or Fluad Quadrivalent vaccine.
“Their immune system ages just like the rest of their body, so it doesn’t respond as well to the stimulation of a vaccine. And we want to make sure that the vaccine makes enough of an immune response and that’s why we need that higher dose,” Sheffield said.
She said getting your flu shot is more crucial this year than ever before. “Our hospitals could get overwhelmed again if we see people getting flu and COVID, we need people to get protected against both,” she said.
Like many workplaces, we recently had our flu shot clinic at the KSL Broadcast House.
“Why wouldn’t I get a flu shot? … It’s good for me and good for everyone around me,” said Larry Curtis from KSL-TV.
“It’s just the thing that I do every year, and I advocate everyone always to get one,” said KSL-TV photographer Mark Less.
Sheffield recommended that you get your flu shot and COVID-19 booster the same day.
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Ayanna LikensAyanna Likens is an Emmy award-winning special projects reporter for KSL-TV.