It’s October, and it’s not too late to get a flu shot

HARRISONBURG, Va. — About a month into flu season JMU professor Suzanne Grossman says it is not too late to get a flu shot.  

“I get the flu shot every year and I usually get that sometime in October,” she said.  

As the months get colder viruses spread rapidly, said Grossman, a professor of health sciences who teaches a class on infectious diseases. “This means people are closer together, which increases the likelihood that the virus will spread and also because it’s cooler outside, we’re not opening windows and having better ventilation, which can also increase the spread of the virus,” she said. 

In addition to flu and the common cold, COVID cases are on the rise. Grossman said the newest vaccine is effective against the latest subvariant and is recommended for people who have not had the virus or the shot in the last two months. 

When talking about vaccine effectiveness Grossman offered, “They’re especially effective in preventing against severe illness as well as hospitalization and death. So, people who are vaccinated might still get ill with COVID or the flu but the illness that they get will likely be much less severe than if they hadn’t been vaccinated against the flu or COVID.”   

There’s no vaccine for the common cold, but there are measures to help protect against it. Grossman suggests washing hands, covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, and wearing a mask if you must go out.  

Audio of Grossman’s comments is here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qwaq5zalj5prw0nyvbtxx/230929-Grossman-update-clips.wav?rlkey=hzhksgw0tswsuml0r5mmoud12&dl=0 

A transcript of her comments is here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/axexlmnb551et5tk1qurw/230928-Grossman-transcript-flu-season.docx?rlkey=st8inzpracnnd17ivskgw6o5k&dl=0 

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Contact: Eric Gorton, gortonej@jmu.edu, 540-908-1760  

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