Vaccinations Archive

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Q. I always get an annual flu shot, but should I get it closer to the official beginning of flu season?

A. In simplest terms, the best time to get a flu shot is anytime you can. Waiting for the "perfect" time could cause you to procrastinate and miss the benefit of a yearly vaccination against the flu, which prevents 50% to 60% of the influenza infections in a typical season. But if you want to time it so it's closer to the typical flu season, October is ideal.

The best time to get an annual flu shot is in mid-October. However, it’s not too late to get the shot in December, since people are still at risk of getting flu for several more months.

New research found that heart failure patients who had a flu shot had a 30% lower risk of hospitalization for cardiovascular disease, 16% lower risk of hospitalization for respiratory infections, and a 4% lower risk of hospitalization in general. 

Mosquitoes can transmit many viruses, such as, Zika, West Nile, dengue, and yellow fever.
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Ask the Doctor

Q. Why is it that we suddenly have epidemics of things like Zika virus that we've never heard about, and that we have no treatments or vaccines for? It feels like we should be better prepared than we apparently are. This worries me more than terrorism.

The annual check-up is important for older men. Here is how to make the most out of your visit.

Men have a long reputation for avoiding check-ups, and that resistance tends not to soften when they are older.

"Many older men put off exams because they fear finding out something is wrong," says Dr. Suzanne Salamon, a geriatrician with Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "Also, many of today's baby boomers don't think they will have medical problems associated with age, so it can difficult for the 'younger older men,' like those in their 60s and early 70s, to see their doctor."

If you start taking an antiviral medication after catching the flu, will it keep your family members from catching the bug, too? Maybe not, according to a study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

The prescription antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) can cut a case of the flu short by suppressing the virus's overpowering urge to copy itself inside you. Less viral "shedding" by the body could, hypothetically, make it less likely that people who live in the same house will also get sick.