WASHINGTON — Health officials are urging vaccinations for both COVID-19 and the flu ahead of the winter season as a surge in cases is expected.
Flu experts claim to be on alert after Australia just experienced its worst flu season in five years, and what happens in Southern Hemisphere winters often foreshadows what Northern countries can expect.
Dr. Andrew Pekosz, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says another factor is that people have largely abandoned masking and distancing precautions that earlier in the pandemic also helped prevent the spread of other respiratory bugs like the flu.
“This year we will have a true influenza season like we saw before the pandemic,” said Dr. Jason Newland, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Washington University in St. Louis.
The CDC advises a flu vaccine by the end of October but says they can be given any time during flu season. It takes about two weeks for protection to set in.
Here is where to get vaccinated for both the flu and COVID-19 in the DMV area:
- Find your nearest clinic for a COVID-19 vaccine or booster by clicking here.
- Find your nearest clinic for flu vaccines by clicking here.
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