Have you had your flu shot this fall?

The med staff announced that flu shots are now available so I made a bee line for their office and got my shot. My friend wanted more info and here's the response.

The doc told him that the best time to get a flu shot is before you get the flu. The second best time to get it is after you get the flu. Wise words!

There are two types of vaccines:

• The “flu shot”—an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm.
  

• The nasal-spray flu vaccine — a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu.
  

Each vaccine contains three influenza viruses-one A (H3N2) virus, one A (H1N1) virus, and one B virus. The viruses in the vaccine change each year based on estimations about which types and strains of viruses will circulate in a given year.

About 2 weeks after vaccination, antibodies that provide protection against influenza virus infection develop in the body.