How to fight the flu

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If you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, go get it. January is not too late to get a flu shot. "Those getting vaccinated at any time will be better protected against the influenza (flu) virus," says Roland A. Levandowski, MD, a virologist in the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

Delays in distribution of the vaccine to health-care providers have prevented some people from getting their shots in October and November--the usual time for vaccination. But the vaccine can be used in January and later with good effectiveness since the flu season lasts through March, says Levandowski.

Studies have shown the vaccine's effectiveness rate to be 70 to 90 percent in healthy young adults. In the elderly and in people with certain chronic illnesses, the vaccine sometimes doesn't prevent illness altogether, but does reduce its severity and the risk of serious complications and death.

The vaccine's most common side effect is soreness at the vaccination site for up to two days. Some people may experience post-shot fever, sore muscles and other symptoms resembling the flu that can last for one to two days. But the flu vaccine cannot actually cause flu because it contains only inactivated viruses.