--- title: The Best Time to Get the Flu Shot Is Earlier Than You Think description: The CDC recommends getting a flu shot by the end of October, before the 2018-2019 flu season begins. The flu shot can prevent influenza. canonical: https://time.com/5386037/flu-shot-october-2018/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-09-04T15:40:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:19:57.386Z article:section: Health og:title: The Best Time to Get the Flu Shot Is Earlier Than You Think og:description: Before flu season is in full swing og:url: https://time.com/5386037/flu-shot-october-2018/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d574357b555cac/6987789b3c1639079745105c/health-syringe-needle-6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Health Syringe Needle og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Best Time to Get the Flu Shot Is Earlier Than You Think twitter:description: Before flu season is in full swing twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d574357b555cac/6987789b3c1639079745105c/health-syringe-needle-6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Best Time to Get the Flu Shot Is Earlier Than You Think  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Sep 4, 2018 3:40 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom—TIME  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Sep 4, 2018 3:40 PM UTC It’s technically still summer, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s already time to think about flu season 2018-2019. All adults and children older than six months should get a flu vaccine by the end of October 2018, [the CDC says](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2018-2019.htm). (The American Academy of Pediatrics recently [made a similar recommendation](http://www.aappublications.org/news/2018/09/03/flu090318).) While the shot is still effective for those who get it later in the fall or winter, getting vaccinated before flu season is in full swing offers the best protection, the CDC says. While the flu shot is not perfect — during last year’s [brutal flu season](http://time.com/5105929/why-is-the-flu-so-bad-2018/), it was [only about 36% effective](http://time.com/5160213/flu-shot-effectiveness-2018/) — the CDC still recommends getting one, since they can reduce the chances of getting and spreading the flu and the severity of any illnesses that do occur. The flu shot also tends to be more effective in children. The vaccine has also been tweaked for the upcoming flu season in hopes of targeting the viruses that are likely to circulate this year, according to the CDC. Both standard vaccines and [nasal sprays](http://time.com/5170514/flumist-nasal-spray-flu-vaccine/) are recommended for the 2018-2019 flu season. The CDC’s vaccine reminder comes after a particularly intense flu season, which sent more than 30,000 people to the hospital and killed [180 children](http://time.com/5301749/pediatric-deaths-flu-season/) — the highest number recorded in any non-pandemic year since 2004, when the CDC began tracking pediatric deaths. While the CDC can’t predict what this year’s flu season will be like, it recommends vaccination as a preventive measure. Once flu season begins, people can also reduce the spread of illness by washing their hands frequently, staying home from school or work if they get sick and taking antiviral drugs if they come down with influenza. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5386037/flu-shot-october-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5386037/flu-shot-october-2018/"},"headline":"The Best Time to Get the Flu Shot Is Earlier Than You Think","datePublished":"2018-09-04T15:40:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:19:57.386Z","description":"Before flu season is in full swing","url":"https://time.com/5386037/flu-shot-october-2018/","keywords":["Public Health","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d574357b555cac/6987789b3c1639079745105c/health-syringe-needle-6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72d574357b555cac/6987789b3c1639079745105c/health-syringe-needle-6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Health Syringe Needle","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Health Syringe Needle","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom—TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5386037/flu-shot-october-2018/","name":"The Best Time to Get the Flu Shot Is Earlier Than You Think"}}]}] ```