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ablasphemyofpoets · 8 months

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Vaccine PSA for people in the US

It’s fall and that means time for vaccines! There are two everyone who can should get and an additional one for people over 60.

1- The new Covid booster! This was approved today, 9/13, and distribution will begin this week. Depending on where you are, it will be available the end of this week or beginning next week. You can get this booster if it’s been 2 months since your last one. It offers the best protection against the most current variants.

If you have insurance, the booster should be covered. If you don’t, the government is covering them until 2024. https://www.vaccines.gov/ will help you find where to get a free shot. Covid boosters will be available at health departments, pharmacies, mobile clinics, and doctors offices.

Why should you get one: the current circulating strains are very different from the previous ones with many mutations. Your previous boosters won’t protect against them very well. Healthy people are still getting very sick from Covid and hospitalizations and deaths are still high and will only rise going into winter. Long Covid is also a possibility. Even if you only get a mild case, you could infect someone else who won’t be so lucky. Getting a booster will protect you and your friends and family.

2- The flu shot- You probably do this every year. The flu shot is pretty standard but it’s also important especially with Covid because you can get both sicknesses at the same time. The flu also kills about 35,000 people per year in the US and while most of those people have an underlying conditions, many don’t. Even if you don’t die from the flu, it’s not very much fun and quick shot can help prevent you from getting it or lessen the severity. Getting your flu shot will also help protect the people around you who can’t get the shot because of allergies through herd immunity. It will also help protect the elderly and immunocompromised. Even if you don’t have an underlying condition that could make the flu serious for you, you probably know someone who does.

The flu shot is free at most county health departments and insurance will cover it as well. If you are in college, many colleges offer free shots for students and staff.

You can also get the Covid booster and the flu shot at the same time!

The best time to get the flu shot is between the end of September and the end of October. Getting it then helps ensure that your protection will last through most of the winter and the worst of flu season. It is not recommended to get it sooner than that because your protection will wear off over time.

3- RSV. This vaccine is new this year! However, it isn’t available or recommended to everyone. Right now, it is for pregnant people to protect their baby and for those over 60. Even if you aren’t in that demographic, you might know someone who is and they might not know about it. Talk to the people you care about and encourage them to get this vaccine.

Note that you should not get the RSV vaccine at the same time as your Covid or flu shot. It is recommended to wait 1-2 weeks in between to make sure you get the proper protection.

Insurances should cover this vaccine but make sure to check first! It can be quite expensive if not covered by insurance. Some places may offer it for free or reduced cost to vulnerable groups.

What is RSV? RSV is a mild respiratory virus and is just like a cold for most people. However, young babies and people over 60 are much more likely to develop severe illness and be hospitalized or die from it.

Here are some sources if you want to learn more about any of the information in this post.

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