Here’s the whole lot it’s essential find out about getting your flu – and coronavirus – jab.
Who ought to get the flu shot, and why ought to I get one?
Anyone older than six months outdated ought to get vaccinated in opposition to influenza forward of the flu season, in response to the federal well being division.
While it is vital for everybody to get a shot, authorities have mentioned it is significantly so for at-risk teams – people who find themselves vulnerable to getting critically sick in the event that they catch influenza.
This contains individuals older than 65, pregnant ladies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, kids aged between six months and 5 years, and other people with a co-morbidity.
When ought to I get a flu shot and the way lengthy does safety final?
The Australian well being division recommends getting an influenza vaccine anytime from April onwards, to guard in opposition to the flu season which usually runs from June to September.
It says the best degree of safety from the jab is the primary three to 4 months.
If you are uncertain about when precisely to get a shot, have a chat to your pharmacist or GP about when can be finest for you.
Can you get your flu shot and COVID-19 booster on the identical time?
Yes. The influenza vaccine may be taken concurrently a COVID-19 booster dose.
“If you are aged 65 and over, or at higher risk of severe illness, we recommend you receive a 2023 COVID-19 vaccine booster, as both flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time,” NSW chief well being officer Dr Kerry Chant mentioned.
Anyone in Australia aged over 18 can get a COVID-19 booster if it has been six months or longer since their final dose and it has been six or extra months since their final confirmed an infection.
Under the Australian authorities’s National Immunisation Program, the influenza vaccine is free if you’re:
- An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander particular person older than six months outdated
- Aged between six months to 5 years
- Pregnant
- More than 65 years outdated
- More than six months outdated and have a medical situation that creates a better danger of getting critical illness. These embrace cardiac illness, power respiratory circumstances, power neurological circumstances and immunocompromising circumstances.
Will the flu shot give me the flu?
No. None of the influenza vaccines accessible in Australia include reside viruses, so they can not trigger the sickness.
However, some individuals will expertise flu-like negative effects from the vaccine, together with:
- drowsiness or tiredness
- muscle aches
- ache, redness and swelling on the vaccine injection web site
- often an injection-site lump which can final for a lot of weeks
- delicate fever
While much like the signs of flu, these are simply negative effects, not the precise illness.
Answers to essentially the most generally Googled questions on COVID-19
Does the flu shot shield in opposition to COVID-19?
No. The flu shot supplies safety in opposition to a number of strains of influenza, however it does not influence COVID-19, which is a totally completely different virus.
As such, people who find themselves eligible for an additional dose of a COVID-19 booster have been urged to get one, and boosters for each sicknesses may be taken on the identical time.
Source: www.9news.com.au
