Flu vaccine: 7 hidden health benefits you need to know

Flu season is coming, and with combined risks from this virus and Covid-19, we could be in for a tough winter.

Luckily, this year we’ll have more tools to mitigate illness than we did in 2020.

Both Covid-19 and flu shots are readily available in the U.S. and the CDC is encouraging people to get vaccinated for both.

But despite the ritual of getting your flu shot every year, there are probably things you don’t know about the jab.

That’s because different strains become prominent every flu season, so the vaccine composition is tweaked to target them specifically.

Just one shot can protect you from two strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B.

There are also several different flu vaccines on the market, though they’re all specialized to protect against the same viruses.

Getting vaccinated never guarantees that you won’t get sick at all. But it does offer twofold protection:

1. It lessens your chances of getting severely ill and reduces how long your sickness lasts

2. It can prevent you from getting sick in the first place, even if you come in contact with the virus

The U.S. National Institutes of Health announced in June that it’s beginning clinical trials for a flu vaccine that could target nearly any strain.

A recent study suggests people who get at least one flu shot over their lifetime have a 17 percent lower chance of having Alzheimer’s disease.

In the study, the risk got lower with more frequent vaccinations.

It’s unclear why this correlation exists, but the researchers think flu vaccines could have a preventative effect that extends beyond offering protection against viral infections.

In fact, the CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine as a preventative measure.

Needles can be scary, so there’s also a nasal spray flu vaccine approved for people 2 years and older.

It’s perfectly safe to get both vaccines at the same time while you’re at the clinic, according to the CDC.