It’s been more than 20 years since I (foolishly) skipped my annual flu shot, and I paid dearly. I was out of work for an entire week, so I vowed never to miss the shot again.
So, this weekend, I stopped by my friendly corner pharmacy, and said I wanted the big “ quadrivalent ” shot. (Having worked on flu for years, I consider myself a “bigshot,” so I was sure I knew what I needed; the shot that covered four strains of the flu.) But my friendly pharmacist disabused me of my erroneous and inflated perception and told me I was too old (I’d like to think he meant “too wise,”) to get the four-strain version. Instead, I needed the high-dose shot.
He, of course, was correct.
If, like me, you may not know everything you should know about flu vaccine, check out the CDC FAQ here:
But there’s more to be concerned about: Helen Branswell reported on Monday in STAT that vaccine decisions made by the World Health Organization last month may be “an ominous sign for this winter.” It seems the smart folks at WHO believe the strains this winter’s vaccine are effective against may not be the ones we need to worry about.
Read her story here:
And I thought I knew what I needed to know about the flu!
I do know this: If you haven’t already gotten your shot, do it now. And trust your pharmacist to know what type to get.