--- description: Based on data from South America, flu shots are expected to work well for the 2023-2024 season. Here's when to get your flu shot. title: Flu Shots Should Work Well This Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaad2494c49df0c0d/698a4025b3fce330310cace6/flu-shot.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Vaccines](/tag/vaccines/) ## Vaccines Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Good News: Flu Shots Should Work Well This Year  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Sep 8, 2023 8:39 PM CUT  A medical worker administers a dose of flu vaccine in Rosemead, Ca., on Dec. 10, 2022. A medical worker administers a dose of flu vaccine in Rosemead, Ca., on Dec. 10, 2022.Xinhua—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Sep 8, 2023 8:39 PM CUT Different strains of influenza circulate from year to year, which means [making the annual flu shot](https://time.com/6213110/mrna-flu-shot-2022/ "undefined") is always a bit of a gamble. Twice a year, the [World Health Organization consults experts from around the world](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccine-selection.htm "undefined") to help inform its recommendations about which strains should be targeted by the shots used in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Experts' predictions aren’t always perfect, which is why flu shot efficacy varies depending on the season. [Preliminary data](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7237e1.htm "undefined") published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests this year’s gamble may pay off. Flu shots used during the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere’s flu season—spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere—did a good job of keeping people out of the hospital, which suggests the same may be true during the U.S.’s looming fall and winter flu season. Flu vaccines prevented about half of all possible influenza-related hospitalizations among young children, older adults, and people with preexisting conditions—three groups at increased risk of severe disease—during the first months of the flu seasonin five South American countries, according to the CDC report. That’s based on data about respiratory-disease-related hospitalizations gathered by almost 500 hospitals in those countries from March to July of this year. **_Read More:_**[_These Are the Flu Shots You Should Get This Fall and Winter_](https://time.com/6309106/flu-rsv-vaccines-covid-19-boosters-fall-winter/ "undefined") ### More From TIME The shots reduced the risk of flu hospitalizations by an estimated 52%, which puts their effectiveness in the [same ballpark as those used in the Northern Hemisphere during the 2022-2023 flu season](https://time.com/6257808/flu-shot-effectiveness-2023/ "undefined"). Efficacy against hospitalizations rose to 70% among kids six and younger and fell to about 38% among adults in their sixties and older, according to the new report. There’s no guarantee what happens in the Southern Hemisphere will repeat itself in the Northern Hemisphere, but experts often use the earlier flu season to predict what’s to come for the rest of the world. And since the vaccine used in the Northern Hemisphere this year is similar to the one used in the Southern Hemisphere, the early efficacy estimates are encouraging. The CDC report also holds another piece of important information for people in the U.S. Flu season began early in the countries included in the report, which means people in the U.S. should—in a potential repeat of last season—be prepared for the same. Health authorities typically recommend getting your flu shot by the end of October, particularly if you’re at high-risk for severe disease due to age or underlying health conditions. An [updated COVID-19 booster](https://time.com/6308418/ba-2-86-covid-19-variant-vaccine/ "undefined") will also roll out this fall, along with—for the first time—an [RSV vaccine approved for certain groups](https://time.com/6309106/flu-rsv-vaccines-covid-19-boosters-fall-winter/ "undefined") of vulnerable people. Like last year, you should be able to [get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time](https://time.com/6214102/covid-19-booster-flu-shot-same-time/ "undefined") to go into the winter illness season as protected as possible. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6312229/flu-shot-efficacy-2023-2024/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6312229/flu-shot-efficacy-2023-2024/"},"headline":"Good News: Flu Shots Should Work Well This Year","datePublished":"2023-09-08T20:39:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:22:34.737Z","description":"According to data from the Southern Hemisphere.","url":"https://time.com/6312229/flu-shot-efficacy-2023-2024/","keywords":["Vaccines","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaad2494c49df0c0d/698a4025b3fce330310cace6/flu-shot.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/bltaad2494c49df0c0d/698a4025b3fce330310cace6/flu-shot.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A health care worker administers a flu shot","caption":"A health care worker administers a flu shot","creditText":"Xinhua—Getty Images","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/vaccines/","name":"Vaccines"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6312229/flu-shot-efficacy-2023-2024/","name":"Good News: Flu Shots Should Work Well This Year"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"COVID-Vaccine Technology Could Help to Save Dying Bee Colonies","description":"American beekeepers lost nearly half their managed bee colonies this year. 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