Click for simple, affordable ways to make the most of what's left of summer. Flu season is early this year. Here’s how to actually protect your family, according to experts For real advice, we talked to two physicians who've spent this fall fielding questions from worried parents.
It’s almost that time of year when a small cornucopia of medicine takes up residence on the kitchen counter and the house becomes a chorus of coughs and sneezes. As a parent, you know the particular dread of seeing the school nurse’s number flashing on your phone, because you know it’s only a matter of hours until the whole family is flat out. Unfortunately that call may be right around the corner: Flu season is also arriving months earlier than usual this year.
Experts say it’s a good idea to prepare now before the first fever strikes. Most of what actually protects a family is simple, though, and you don’t need a cabinet full of products or a nursing degree to do it well. For real advice, we talked to two physicians who’ve spent this fall fielding questions from worried parents.
Tracy Tyson, MD and Brittany Odom, MD, are both board-certified pediatricians and moms themselves. Here’s what they want you to know about how to protect your family from the flu this season. Yes, in parts of the country.
The picture is uneven, though. Odom says, and she’s already seeing plenty of cases in her area. Regions surge at slightly different times, she says, reason enough to get ahead of it now.
November isn’t too late, she adds, but she wouldn’t wait on purpose, since protection takes about 2 weeks to build and some kids ages 6 months through 8 years need 2 doses at least 4 weeks apart. The flu and COVID shots can be given at the same visit, with no required spacing. The shot is approved for children 6 months and up.
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