Unlike some vaccines, which you can get once as a child and be protected for life, it’s important to get a new flu shot each year. Because a person’s immune protection decreases over time, an annual flu shot is the best way to guarantee your safety.

Flu shots are also updated each year, so even though it’s always referred to as “the flu shot,” it’s a new immunization protecting you from the most current strain of the virus.

All too often, the flu is lumped in with the common cold and therefore treated as a less-than-serious illness. But in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The flu is serious, especially among children, the elderly, and those with chronic health conditions (asthma, heart disease, diabetes, COPD).

Occasionally, people will report soreness and/or swelling at the injection site or a mild fever, however, it’s not possible to get the flu from a flu shot.

Believe it or not, the best time to get a flu shot is in the late summer and fall, before peak flu season. This will give your body enough time to build up resistance to the flu before January and February — the months with peak flu activity.

Find out more about the wellness and prevention care services offered at our Urgent Care Centers by calling for our Bloomfield location or Plymouth location. We serve patients from Plymouth MI, Bloomfield Hills MI, Livonia MI, Novi MI, Worden MI, Canton MI, Southfield MI, Troy MI, Farmington Hills MI and BEYOND.