FACT FINDERS: Can you get a flu shot too early?

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - The newly formulated flu and COVID vaccines are now available, but timing them just right can be tricky.

Yes, it is possible to get vaccinated too early - or even too late. The goal is to achieve an immunity sweet spot that covers the peak of the season.

”If you get those flu shots too early, what happens is, you lose that immunity toward the end of the flu season and you’re susceptible to getting the flu because that shot will wear off. Especially for people 65 and older, they really need to wait until that window,” said Dr. Olivia Holt, Dean of Nursing at The Arizona College of Nursing Tucson Campus.

Holt said you could make your appointment now for late September or early October - but don’t wait much longer than that, because It takes about two weeks for the flu or COVID-19 vaccine to give your body maximum protection.

Also consider, the timing of cases varies from year to year and state to state. Fact Finders took a closer look at data for Arizona and found cases generally pick up for us a little later - typically, in November - with the peak typically coming in January, but as early as December.

With Covid, we generally see a winter peak and a summer one - though those patterns have proven harder to predict.

You can get the shots at the same time in the same arm. There’s some evidence to show, that when you get your Covid booster in the same arm as your original shot, it may be more effective.

There are exceptions: pregnant women, elderly folks, and people with lowered immunity should talk to their doctor to plan vaccines. Each year, shots are tailored to fight specific variants making the most people sick in seven vaccine centers around world. Protection so far this year seems to be as good or better than flu vaccines going back to 2016.

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