Vaccines | Mount Sinai Today

Exercise May Give Your Immune System a Boost

Updated on Oct 31, 2024 | Fitness, Vaccines, Your Health

Vaccines and nutrition strengthen your immunity to viruses and other harmful pathogens—exercise may give it an even bigger boost. In this Q&A, Christine Schindler, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains why exercise likely helps strengthen the immune system and how much you need to reap the benefits.

How does exercise strengthen my immune system?
Exercise causes useful inflammatory responses in the immune system. With moderate exercise, these inflammatory effects can strengthen the immune system. Short bursts of high-intensity exercise are also quite beneficial to your health. One note of caution: According to research, more than 90 minutes of high intensity exercise in a single session is probably bad for your immune system. However, few people exercise at high intensity for that long.

What qualifies as moderate versus high intensity exercise?
A power walk or slow bike ride qualify as moderate intensity. You’re a little out of breath, but not too winded; you can speak in full sentences but not sing. High intensity exercise includes more vigorous activities like running, jumping rope, and tennis—you are getting your heart rate up, working up a real sweat, and are too out of breath to have a conversation.

Can exercise boost vaccine efficiency and reduce the risk of severe illness, especially in older adults?
The most recent studies suggest that exercise does boost vaccine efficacy for people of all ages. One study looked at people who got the flu and COVID-19 vaccines, then performed light to moderate intensity exercise for 90 minutes. About a month later, there was still a higher antibody response to those vaccines. In other studies, the immune response to the flu vaccine was found to be more robust in people who exercised regularly. In older adults, studies suggest that exercise leads to a longer antibody response that may offer more protection throughout the flu season.

These results are promising but not the last word, since researchers are also studying the effects of metrics such as age, gender, and the effect of daily exercise routines. However, the most probable answer is that moderate intensity exercise is beneficial for vaccine response. Exercising the day you get the vaccine also likely has some benefit.

How much, and how often, do I need to exercise to strengthen my immune system?
There is no specific number. Generally, the recommendation for all adults is to get 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week, or 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Or get around 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or 15 minutes a day, five days a week. Strength training at least twice per week is also beneficial. There is evidence that walking 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day has positive health effects. In terms of benefits for your immune system, a power walk is going to be more effective.

What types of exercises do you recommend, especially for someone older or with mobility issues?
It’s important for older adults to walk if they can. Walking amongst nature decreases stress hormone levels and blood pressure and is beneficial for mental health. Joining a walking or exercise group can be very motivating. Senior centers and places like the YMCA often have exercise classes for older adults. It’s beneficial to work out in groups, whether walking around with friends, or going to a class. The team mentality helps people stay motivated. Regardless of your age, if you are new to exercise, it’s best to start slowly.

If you struggle with mobility, there are good beginner YouTube videos that show different ways to exercise: exercises you can do from the chair and exercises you can do in a small apartment space or without exercise equipment, such as using cans of beans instead of weights.

How can I get more exercise without joining a gym?
There are easy ways to incorporate exercise into your daily routine without a gym membership. For example, if you are a commuter, you can walk for part of your commute instead of taking the bus, and you can take the stairs at work instead of the elevator. If you don’t live in a neighborhood where you feel safe or the weather is bad, try walking up and down the stairs of your building or walk in a mall. Get creative with strategies that work for you and your schedule.

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Mount Sinai Researchers Share Thoughts on the Promise of mRNA Technology, a Nobel Prize-Winning Science

Updated on Oct 27, 2023 | Cancer, Featured, Research, Vaccines

Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, the Mount Sinai Professor in Cancer Immunology (left), and Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Ward-Coleman Chair in Cancer Research (right), lead some of the most cutting edge research in mRNA technology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded jointly to two researchers, Katalin Karikó, PhD, and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, for their decades-long work on messenger RNA (mRNA), which ultimately led to the successful development of COVID-19 vaccines that made a huge difference during the pandemic.

The concept of using mRNA to deliver genetic instructions was met with a lot of skepticism in the beginning, says Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Ward-Coleman Chair in Cancer Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Because these molecules were rapidly degraded by the immune system, they were thought to be too transient to be used to express anything therapeutic, such as antigens or other molecules in immune cells, she added.

“It’s really through the two researchers’ sheer hard work and determination and validation, both in the lab and in the clinic, that this became a technology that can be harnessed for patient benefit,” says Dr. Bhardwaj, who is also Director of Immunotherapy and Medical Director of the Vaccine and Cell Therapy Laboratory.

The validation of mRNA as a delivery mechanism has opened the doors to vaccines in many other diseases, including cancer, says Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, the Mount Sinai Professor in Cancer Immunology, and Director of the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute (PrIISM) at Icahn Mount Sinai.

“We’ve been quite interested in the mRNA for some time—not only this type but also another called the micro RNA,” says Dr. Merad. Even prior to COVID-19, Mount Sinai researchers have recognized the potential of various RNA for use in vaccines, such as for cancer, she adds.

Read more from Drs. Bhardwaj and Merad on their thoughts on mRNA technology, and learn how Mount Sinai is leading this field with its research.

Katalin Karikó, PhD (left), and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, were the joint winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Dr. Karikó, a Hungarian-American biochemist who worked at the University of Pennsylvania, continues her research as a professor at the University of Szeged in Hungary. Dr. Weissman, an immunologist, advances vaccine work at his laboratory at the Perelman School of Medicine at UPenn.

What’s the history of mRNA technology development been like?

Dr. Bhardwaj: There was a lot of skepticism in the beginning about how exogenously-delivered RNA—which we usually think of as these transient molecules that are rapidly degraded—can be utilized to express antigens and other molecules in immune cells. So the concept that could happen was not well accepted initially.

Dr. Merad: Also, much of the early focus was on cancer, and researchers were not obtaining fantastic results. Cancer vaccines are still yielding anecdotal responses, and it might not have anything to do with the technology.

What do you feel was a turning point for that skepticism?

Dr. Bhardwaj: I think, in especially the last decade, this technology was being used a good deal at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center as a platform for developing vaccines against other infectious agents, not COVID-19 at the time. What had been generated from the platform showed promise, in preclinical models.

When the COVID-19 pandemic came along, there were highly immunogenic modified “cassettes” generated wherein one could just plug in antigens—such as the spike protein of the COVID-19 virus—which could be rapidly formulated into vaccines and tested.

But even prior to that, there were ongoing efforts to use this technology as platforms for cancer vaccines, which are now being tested in the clinic with encouraging preliminary results in randomized studies in melanoma.

Dr. Merad: I think the big two were the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) as a delivery mechanism, and of course, a disease that somehow was the perfect case to try this new therapeutic strategy.

Drs. Karikó and Weissman were able to change up the RNA prior to the injections so that the molecules persisted longer. They were making clear advances in the way the proteins were being made. But, still, the real fixes started when they learned to encapsulate the mRNA in nanoparticles.

In fact, Dr. Karikó went to BioNTech (which partnered with Pfizer to produce the COVID-19 vaccine) and Moderna also licensed mRNA technology, and what happened was that two companies developed a way of delivering mRNA. This extra component—the delivery mechanism—was what made therapeutics possible.

Also, the pandemic is kind of a boost for mRNA technology. Because, first, of the number of patients available, and second, we are in a bit of a risk-taking mode. These vaccines were already developed against pathogens, so they just had to be pivoted to COVID-19.

One solution that companies like Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna used to protect the mRNA instructions in their vaccines from being degraded by the immune system was loading them into tiny fat particles known as lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). These delivery vehicles are also able to find the targeted cells, which mRNA molecules alone cannot achieve. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai honored the efforts of the BioNTech executives during its 54th Commencement in May 2023, conferring upon them honorary Doctor of Science degrees.

Learn more about LNPs and mRNA technology in a Q&A with BioNTech executives

What research is Mount Sinai doing with mRNA?

Dr. Bhardwaj: One exciting line of research includes work from Yizhou Dong, PhD, Professor of Oncological Sciences at Icahn Mount Sinai, who works with the Icahn Genomics Institute and PrIISM. He is one of our newly recruited faculty members, who has been working in this space for quite a while. He has demonstrated that RNA can be used as a platform to introduce various kinds of immune modulators into cells, including dendritic cells, a key cellular potentiator of the immune system.

Dr. Dong uses RNA-LNPs to introduce various types of immune modulators into immune cells and even cancer cells to enhance antitumor immunity. My team is using RNA-LNPs to encode newly identified antigens, such as neoantigens, which arise from mutations in cancer cells, and then use those within vaccine constructs.

In preclinical models, we have shown that such RNA-lipid constructs, developed in-house in The Tisch Cancer Institute, are immunogenic and can have therapeutic benefit in treating cancers. Our goal is to take that to the next level: develop our own vaccine constructs and deliver them into humans.

Dr. Merad: We’ve been interested in exploiting mRNA to translate into specific proteins. We have been very much interested in using mRNA to change the immunosuppressive environment of tumors, where we use mRNA to go into the tumor and start making it look like an infection to induce an antitumor immune response. There is a lot of effort in using mRNA to transform cancer lesions—which can suppress and evade the immune system—into something very inflamed that can be recognized by the immune system and lead to tumor clearance.

One of my colleagues, Brian Brown, PhD, Director of the Icahn Genomics Institute, and Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Icahn Mount Sinai, is quite interested in using mRNA in different types of disease settings. My lab is mostly looking at inflaming regions in cancer, or reducing inflammation in inflammatory diseases—in this case we use mRNA as cargo to deliver proteins that will dampen inflammation and enable inflammatory lesions to heal.

What do you see as the future of mRNA technology?

Dr. Bhardwaj: I think the breadth is enormous. We can add many different types of immune-enhancing modulators into these particles—not just antigens—including homing receptors and cytokines. RNA platforms have been given intramuscularly and intravenously, and it’s possible you may be able to deliver it intranasally and into the skin, as well as directly into tumors.

The scope of what we can do, what we can encode and add, and the potential combinations with other immunomodulatory agents is vast. I think the field is moving really fast, especially with new companies coming into the field and startups accelerating rapidly.

Dr. Merad: Right now, the big conundrum that we have is: how can we raise an immune response against cancer that is beneficial, without inducing a harmful response against other tissue? I think the answer is delivery.

With mRNA, it provides all the instruction needed for therapeutic effect, but what we are still working on is enhancing that cell-specific delivery system. If we were allowed to bring that instruction to the right compartment, then we can afford to do so much more.

Delivering the Future of Vaccines With mRNA Technology

Updated on Jun 15, 2023 | Featured, Research, School, Vaccines

From left to right, Peter Palese, PhD, Horace W. Goldsmith Professor of Medicine; Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, Mount Sinai Professor in Cancer Immunology; Özlem Türeci, MD, Chief Medical Officer of BioNTech; Uğur Şahin, MD, Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech; Dennis Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

One of the great tools that helped turn the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic was the use of vaccines, which prevented millions of deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. and around the world. Key vaccines were those based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which provide information for the molecules that teach the cells in the body to generate proteins used by viruses or cancers, allowing the body’s immune system to recognize and fight off future infections or transformed cancer cells.

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai honored the efforts of executives of German biotechnology firm BioNTech, which partnered with Pfizer to develop and make available one of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines in the country, during its 54th Commencement on Thursday, May 11. Uğur Şahin, MD, Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech, and Özlem Türeci, MD, its Chief Medical Officer, received honorary Doctor of Science degrees.

Research into mRNA technology for vaccines goes back to the 1990s, and has grown in leaps and bounds since, said Dr. Türeci in a guest lecture hosted by the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute, held separately from the Commencement.

The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for the technology to be adapted at a large scale, and the momentum gained and lessons learned was only the starting point to pave the way for greater heights for the development of mRNA vaccines, she said.

In this Q&A, Drs. Şahin and Türeci spoke about what the future of mRNA vaccines could look like.

After two years of COVID-19 vaccines:

An estimated 18 million hospitalizations were prevented
More than 3 million deaths were avoided
Source: New York City-based foundation The Commonwealth Fund

Percentage vaccinated in United States by manufacturer:

Pfizer/BioNTech: 60%
Moderna: 37%
Johnson & Johnson: 3%
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What are some active areas of research in which mRNA technology is being worked on?

Dr. Şahin: There are investigational cancer vaccines in which mRNA technology is being used to deliver instructions to generate antibodies or cytokines. This technology can theoretically be used to deliver any bioactive molecule.

Our focus at the moment is the development of cancer vaccines, and one special application of cancer vaccines we’re working on is the so-called “personalized cancer vaccines.” mRNA technology is particularly well suited to deliver a vaccine that consists of mutations of the tumor identified from the patient.

Dr. Türeci presenting to members of the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute.

What is it about mRNA technology that makes it so well suited for cancer vaccines?

Dr. Türeci: We have been interested in cancer vaccines all along, and tried different technologies, and mRNA is the delivery technology that comes with its own edge. Its immunogenicity is very versatile and its transience has the potential to lead to a favorable safety profile. These characteristics are the reasons why we chose mRNA to deliver cancer antigens.

Any solid cancer could be appropriate for application. We have ongoing clinical trials in melanoma, head-and-neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer.

Beyond cancer vaccines, we believe any bioactive cancer immunotherapy that is based on protein could be delivered by mRNA.

What about non-cancer diseases? Is mRNA technology suitable there?

Dr. Türeci: There are other areas, such as infectious diseases, in which mRNA could have an advantage. As long as you have the right protein structure to stimulate an immune response, you can theoretically also use mRNA here.

There are clinical trials in infectious diseases: COVID-19, for example, but also malaria or shingles.

What are some current limitations of mRNA technology? And how are researchers working to overcome those?

Dr. Türeci: We are very far advanced in the delivery component of the technology, and these advancements have made COVID-19 vaccines, as well as cancer vaccines in clinical testing, feasible. However, if you want to target specific organs, you need specialized, targeted delivery technologies.

For example, if you want to address something in the brain, you need a delivery technology that brings the mRNA into the brain. There may be monogenetic diseases in which the sample protein is deficient in the organ, and so limits how the mRNA can be expressed there.

So the lipid nanoparticle used to contain the COVID-19 vaccine, for example, might not be applicable for any other organs?

Dr. Türeci: This delivery technology was specifically designed and developed to deliver mRNA to the lymphatic system. If the mRNA needs to be delivered to different organs, it required new formulation.

What is a lipid nanoparticle? Read more about it here

When the public first became aware of mRNA technology through COVID-19 vaccines, there was skepticism. Do you envision similar skepticism as new mRNA vaccines roll out, and if so, how can we dispel such skepticism?

Dr. Türeci: Skepticism can only be addressed by transparent communication, through the disclosure of data, and proper education. I think there is a zeitgeist of skepticism. That skepticism isn’t necessarily specific to mRNA technology. But once they start to understand the mechanisms behind the technology, and the rationale of why we’re working on it, we can start to dispel it.

Do you foresee mRNA technology to grow exponentially into the future?

Dr. Şahin: Yes, mRNA vaccines could be really big, but it will happen slowly. It will take a few more years, but we are starting to see really promising candidates using this technology.

What You Need to Know About the Latest COVID-19 Variant

Jan 24, 2023 | COVID-19, Featured, Vaccines, Your Health

You may have noticed that more people you know have gotten COVID-19 recently. One reason is the virus that causes COVID-19 continues to evolve into variants that are more contagious.

The latest one is known as XBB.1.5, and since early December it has become the predominant variant in the New York metropolitan area, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This variant is thought to be highly transmissible due to its ability to partially evade antibodies produced through vaccines or past infections. However, the vaccines still offer excellent protection against severe illness and death.

New Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccines: In April 2023, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced some major changes for COVID-19 vaccines. Click here to read more about what you need to know.

In this Q&A, Bernard Camins, MD, MSc, Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Medical Director for Infection Prevention for the Mount Sinai Health System, explains more about the new variant and how to protect yourself.

No matter the variant, it is important to remember that COVID-19 is not going away. The key is to reduce transmission to those who are at risk of getting seriously ill:

If you feel sick, stay at home.
If you want to be more vigilant, wear a high-quality mask, avoid being unmasked at large indoor gatherings (such as eating at restaurants), especially when infection rates in your area are very high.
If you are at high-risk for a serious infection, talk with your medical provider so you are prepared should you get infected.
Don’t forget to get your flu shot; you can get that at the same time you get your COVID-19 booster shot.

How does this new variant differ from the earlier variants?

The nature of COVID-19 is that the new variants are likely going to be more contagious than the older ones. There is currently no evidence that this latest variant is more dangerous. The symptoms do not appear different.

Does the newest, updated booster shot help protect me from this new variant?

According to the CDC, being up to date with the bivalent booster that became available in September 2022 offers the best protection against COVID-19. (It is the only booster now available.) The updated bivalent booster specifically targets both the BA.5 sub variant of Omicron, of which XBB.1.5 is a descendent, and the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. The original COVID-19 monovalent vaccines, and the monovalent booster that became available in the fall of 2021, only target the original virus, and therefore potentially offer less protection against the Omicron subvariants.

I was recently infected with COVID-19. How long should I wait to get the latest bivalent booster?

You may consider waiting up to 90 days from your last infection before getting the bivalent booster. Reinfection is less likely in the weeks and months after infection. But you may want to talk with your provider if you are at increased risk of severe disease.

I never got any vaccines. Can I skip the first and second monovalent vaccines and just get the bivalent booster?

No. Before you can get the bivalent booster, you still need to get two doses of the monovalent vaccine.

I received my bivalent booster more than two months ago. Has my immunity started to wane?

Your immunity does begin to wane after three to four months, probably more so if you’re older, such as older than 50.

Can I get another dose to bolster my immunity?

No. Currently, there are no more recommended doses after you have already gotten the bivalent booster, regardless of how long it has been.

Will the bivalent booster and antiviral medications prevent me from developing long COVID?

We do not have definitive data yet to know how much protection the bivalent booster and antiviral medications such as Paxlovid™ offer against the development of long COVID. But we do know that being vaccinated certainly reduces your risk of developing it.

I am at high risk for complications from COVID-19. What should I do to protect myself from the latest subvariant?

Because COVID-19 is so widespread now, it’s hard to avoid getting infected or exposed. While it is reasonable to take precautions to avoid a COVID-19 infection, the goal should be to reduce the severity or prevent complications when you do get COVID-19. High-risk individuals should have a plan for how to get antiviral medications, which can prevent severe illness or death. For this to work, you must take the medications within the first five days of symptom onset. If you have not done so already, you should talk with your doctor or your care provider to create a plan for what antivirals you would need and how to get them. Having a plan is also important because you may be on medications that interact with certain antivirals, and you may need to stop taking those medications temporarily to prevent drug interactions. Those at high risk include older adults, those with chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, and those with reduced ability to fight infections, such as those being treated for some cancers.

Updated COVID-19 Vaccines: What Are They and Do I Need One?

Oct 14, 2022 | COVID-19, Featured, Vaccines

Over the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease, has mutated many times. Each new version of the virus is called a variant or subvariant. The same COVID-19 vaccines that were made available since December 2020 have done a remarkable job in preventing severe disease and death but have become less effective at preventing infections because of the mutations.

That is, until the late summer of 2022, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) green-lighted “bivalent” formulations—an updated version of the vaccines—to be used against the newer variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Bernard Camins, MD, MSc, Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Medical Director for Infection Prevention for the Mount Sinai Health System, explains what the bivalent vaccines do and the latest guidance on who should receive them and when.

What does it mean that the vaccines are bivalent?

COVID-19 vaccines with bivalent formulations target the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron—one of the predominant circulating variants—as well as the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, says Dr. Camins. These include the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

An updated vaccine is needed because the virus has mutated several times and is so different from the original strain that the previous monovalent version of the vaccine —targeting only one variant—might not provide adequate protection from infection, he says.

With bivalent vaccines now authorized for use, the monovalent versions of the COVID-19 boosters are no longer authorized. The primary series are still recommended before the bivalent booster can be administered.

How effective and safe is the updated vaccine compared to previous ones?

“It’s pretty much the same as the old vaccine,” Dr. Camins says. The difference is that the genetic makeup of the updated vaccines has an addition to account for the spike protein of BA.5.

The updated vaccines’ side effects are similar to previous versions. The most commonly reported side effects of the bivalent vaccines include pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, chills, swelling of the lymph nodes in the same arm of the injection, nausea/vomiting, and fever, according to the FDA.

“You probably would not notice it being different from any of the previous vaccine doses or boosters you’ve received,” Dr. Camins says.

The updated Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have both been studied for effectiveness and safety. Although the studies examined a bivalent formulation involving the original strain and Omicron BA.1, the FDA granted the vaccines authorization based on the totality of evidence, which included clinical and nonclinical data that demonstrated commonalities between BA.1 and BA.4/BA.5.

This method of studying and approving updated COVID-19 vaccines is similar to how new flu vaccines based on circulating strains are handled, he adds: “It is very analogous to what we do with the flu vaccine.”

Who is eligible for the updated vaccine and who should get it?

The Moderna updated booster is authorized for individuals ages 6 and older, while the Pfizer-BioNTech updated booster is authorized for those who are 5 and older.

Where can I get the updated vaccine?

If you live in the New York metropolitan region, you can check the New York State, New York City, New Jersey, or Connecticut websites for locations that offer appointments or walk-in vaccination. Major pharmacy chains are another place to try. If you live elsewhere, Dr. Camins recommends using vaccines.gov or reaching out to local health care providers and pharmacies.

When should I get the updated booster?

The updated vaccine is recommended to individuals two months after completing a primary series or a previous booster.

I got COVID-19 recently. Do I still need the updated booster?

“The updated booster is recommended even for those who have been infected with a previous variant or subvariant of SARS-CoV-2,” says Dr. Camins.

If you have been recently infected, it is reasonable to wait 90 days after symptom onset before receiving an updated booster, he says. However, the CDC has indicated it is also safe to seek an updated booster as soon as you are no longer contagious from a current infection.

Why do I need a booster when people still seem to get COVID-19 despite being vaccinated?

The updated vaccine booster was created to match the current circulating BA.5 subvariant better so it should protect patients from infection better than the previous version, although it’s not a 100 percent guarantee, Dr. Camins says. Receiving the booster could also lessen the chances of developing severe disease especially for patients who are at high risk for complications from COVID-19.

Will I need to keep taking updated boosters if there are new variants?

“We don’t know if future updated boosters are required,” Dr. Camins says. That determination could be based on the current circulating sub-variant, as well as the data from people who have received the updated booster for Omicron BA.5, he adds.

However, Dr. Camins notes that the White House’s COVID-19 Response Team is thinking of moving in the direction of rolling out annual, updated COVID-19 shots matched to current circulating strands. A single annual shot should provide a high degree of protection against serious illness all year, and could prevent thousands of deaths and hospitalizations annually, according to White House officials.

Here’s Why You Should Get a Flu Shot Now

Oct 9, 2022 | Vaccines, Your Health

With the arrival of fall, the weather is getting cooler, the days are getting short, and it’s time for your annual flu shot.

Since the outbreak of the COIVD -19 pandemic, the presence of seasonal flu, caused by the influenza virus, has been lower than normal, as people did not go out as much, wore masks, and practiced social distancing.

But as life returns to normal, so does the flu season, and so health experts are recommending you get the shot, the sooner the better. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends influenza vaccination of all individuals six months of age and older, preferably by the end of October.

Here are five things to keep in mind about the flu vaccine from Waleed Javaid, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an expert on infectious disease.

Getting the flu shot is especially important this year.

For the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has tended to overshadow the flu, and the incidence of flu was lower than normal. But that’s expected to change. Experts have been tracking the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere, where winter in places like South America and Australia officially ends in September, and there has been a significant increase in flu activity back to normal levels. They expect the same pattern to occur in the United States and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. Health care providers understand that some may have become wary of another vaccine when the pandemic appears to be winding down. But now is not the time to let down your guard.

You can get the flu vaccine at the same time you get a COVID-19 vaccine.

The CDC says you can get both of these shots at the same time, which is especially convenient. Of course, it’s always best to discuss your personal circumstances with your primary care provider. And you may decide to space them out by a few weeks, which may help reduced potential side effects, such as fatigue, headache, and muscle ache. It’s also okay for children to get both shots at the same time.

The seasonal flu is serious business.

Some may dismiss the seasonal flu as little different from the common cold. In fact, it is much more severe and it is actually more like COVID-19 in severity than the common cold. In addition, many are at higher risk of developing serious flu-related complications, including those 65 and older; those with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease; those who are pregnant; and children younger than five. So you may expose others you are in contact with. You can still get the flu even if you are vaccinated. But the vaccine is very effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths due to the seasonal flu.

Earlier is best, but any time is good.

Experts recommend getting vaccinated by the end of October. This will provide protection during peak of flu season in December and January. Vaccination later can still provide protection, but it takes about two weeks after vaccination for the vaccine to be effective. Something new this year: The CDC recommends that those over age 65 get a higher dose version of the vaccine.

The symptoms for the flu and for COVID-19 are very similar.

It’s very hard to distinguish between the two conditions without an actual test. The symptoms for both are very similar, including fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. Bottom line: If you are feeling these symptoms, stay home. If they worsen, call your health care provider.

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