Lee Batsakis
OSF Healthcare
OSF Healthcare
Doctors recommend patients get both their flu and Covid booster by the end of this month for maximum protection against the two viruses.
Photo: CDC/Upslash
Since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended annual flu vaccines for everyone six months and older, with few exceptions. New this year is an added recommendation for a higher dose for those 65 and older. The CDC has also recommended the use of updated COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and from Moderna for people ages 18 years and older. If you have not yet received your COVID-19 booster shot, or if you still have yet to receive an initial dose, it’s not too late. "I urge everybody who is eligible to get a COVID booster to do so, and the reasons why are multifactorial. Number one is because your immunity wanes and you need to protect yourself. Number two is that the virus has changed slightly and the newest booster is most effective at protecting against those changes, " says Dr. Bill Walsh, an OSF HealthCare chief medical officer. Dr. Walsh adds that it is important to get the seasonal flu shot as well as a COVID shot because they protect against different viruses. "Please understand that the recommendation is for both the flu shot and the COVID shot. There is no cross reactivity even though the symptoms might be similar between COVID-19 and influenza. The influenza shot will not help against COVID, and the COVID vaccination will not protect you against influenza, " Dr. Walsh explains. The timing of when to get your flu shot and COVID booster can be confusing. The CDC says if you haven’t yet gotten your initial recommended dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, to get one as soon as you can. Health experts typically recommend getting your seasonal flu vaccine by the end of October for best protection during the peak of flu season, and say it is safe to get both vaccines during the same visit. "There are many times when you get more than one vaccine. Most of the time when you get a tetanus shot, it also includes pertussis. Many of the vaccinations pediatricians give to children have more than one vaccine in each shot. So, it is standard and normal for more than one vaccine to occur at a time, " Dr. Walsh says. Dr. Walsh adds getting both shots done at once alleviates having to make multiple trips to your doctor’s office or local pharmacy. But this route may not be for everyone. As with all vaccinations, there are mild side effects that both vaccines can cause, such as joint or muscle pain, fatigue, and chills. If you have experienced side effects from vaccines in the past and it took a couple days for them to subside, you may opt to get the vaccines at separate times. "You know yourself best. If you are certain that you will get them both despite not getting them at one appointment, then that is completely fine, too. You may want to space them out because sometimes you have side effects. There have been a lot of questions about whether to get them both in one arm or in different arms so you have different injection sites. That really boils down to personal preference, " advises Dr. Walsh. The important thing is making sure you do get both of these vaccinations to protect both yourself and your loved ones. Because the holiday season is approaching, you may have holiday gatherings on your calendar over the next few months. If you get your flu shot in October but choose to wait to get your COVID-19 booster at a later date, Dr. Walsh recommends getting it at least two weeks before any large gatherings in order to ensure the best protection against the virus. To schedule your seasonal flu vaccine and COVID-19 booster, make an appointment with your primary care provider or local pharmacy. Talk to your primary care provider if you have any questions about either vaccine.
Social Security recipients will receive an 8.7% increase in their monthly income starting in January. The average increase will fall between $150 to $250 per month. This will buy you a tank of gasoline or a sack of groceries. The increase will help about 70 million retired Americans.
Inflation has devoured Americans’ paychecks as groceries, fuel, rent and now interest rates have skyrocketed. By the time the January increase comes around you probably will have lost most of your increase to these and medical costs associated with Social Security.
Pay all you can into Social Security. Too many young adults buy into the rationale that Social Security doesn’t pay much or won’t be around when they retire. On some level it will be around and you’ll need it when you retire.
Business persons, farmers, hospitality people, clergy and others make a big mistake in finding ways to only show a small income when they file their taxes. This reduces the amount of taxes owed and lowers how much paid into Social Security. When retirement comes these people become very sad when they find out they will only receive a minimal amount of Social Security income.
One minister friend opted out of paying into Social Security because of religious objections.
When he was 70, he had almost zero retirement and worked up until his death. Another ministerial friend claimed very little salary and received very little in Social Security payments when he retired. He spent his last couple of years cleaning hotel rooms and working at Kentucky Fried Chicken trying to survive. A farmer acquaintance worked hard for many years but doesn’t collect a penny in Social Security benefits. You have to pay into it to collect it so don’t short-change yourself.
The average Social Security payment in 2022 is $1,614. Many people who worked less years and paid less collect less than this amount. Some Americans who worked longer, earned more income and paid more into the system are collecting $3,345 per month. Again, these numbers will increase in 2023 by 8.7%.
Sometimes people retire too early. A friend retired at 62 and received $1100 per month in Social Security income. At that time, he would have collected several hundred more if he could have worked just three more years.
Pay into an Individual Retirement Account, 401k and anything else you can. You can’t live big just on a Social Security check, but pay as much as possible into the system now because it will be helpful later.
