With flu season quickly approaching during the coronavirus pandemic, many are wondering if it is safe, or even necessary, to get a vaccinated this year. In essence, should you get a flu shot during the coronavirus scare?

Though the flu shot will not help fight COVID-19, it is still important to get one. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that hospitals could easily become overwhelmed with the flu and COVID-19 spreading simultaneously. If people protect themselves against the flu, hospitals are less likely to become overwhelmed, and they can better treat both COVID-19 and flu patients.

The CDC still recommends everyone six months and older get the flu shot as scheduled in 2020. However, the CDC does not recommend getting the flu shot earlier than normal this year, as it may be less effective.

The CDC is making some changes to where and how people can get vaccinated. The CDC is working with state and local health departments to take necessary precautions to encourage social distancing. This may include closing some vaccination sites. The CDC recommends that people with symptoms of COVID-19 wait until those symptoms subside before getting the flu shot.

Anti-vaxxers on social media are claiming the flu shot can make you more susceptible to contracting COVID-19. This is not true, according to FactCheck.org. The CDC maintains that vaccinations are extremely safe and effective, and experts are urging Americans more than ever to get their flu shot.

“We’re really hoping the American public will see that the flu vaccine is one major way they can help the nation get through this fall,” CDC Director Robert Redfield told Congress in June, via the Hill.

Read more on the coronavirus vaccine:

• How the anti-vax movement could ruin the chances for a successful coronavirus vaccine
• 30,000 U.S. residents to receive experimental coronavirus vaccine
• If the coronavirus mutates, will a potential vaccine still be effective against it?
• Even a successful COVID-19 vaccine might not end the pandemic
• Until now, what’s the quickest a vaccine has ever been developed?
• When a COVID-19 vaccine comes out, who will have first priority?
• The immunity provided from a coronavirus vaccine might only be temporary
• Could old vaccines for tuberculosis and polio help fight COVID-19?

Sources: CDC, The Hill, FactCheck.org

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