It's time to protect yourself and your family for the upcoming flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released updated 2024-25 vaccine recommendations for the upcoming influenza season.

As always, it's strongly recommended that everyone 6 months of age and older get vaccinated for influenza. Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with the Mayo Clinic Children's Center, says the flu vaccine is one of the most effective ways to reduce the severity of influenza illness and to reduce hospitalizations and deaths.

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The updated flu vaccine for this season is a trivalent vaccine, meaning it contains protection for not just one, but three different types of influenza.

"There's an H1N1, an H3N2 and an influenza B virus that this vaccine will protect against. Compared to last year, the H3N2 component is different. So this protects against a different strain of that virus that we didn't have in last year's flu vaccine," says Dr. Rajapakse.

As far as the best time to get vaccinated for the flu, Dr. Rajapakse says ideally in September or October. But don't wait too long.

"We recommend getting the vaccine before the end of October, since we tend to see cases of influenza increase in November, December, January. You want to make sure that you're protected going into that time of increased influenza circulation," says Dr. Rajapakse.

She says there are some people who may benefit from getting a flu shot earlier.

"Children under 9 years of age — especially if this is their first time getting the flu vaccine or they haven't had two prior doses of the flu vaccine _ they actually will need two doses separated by four weeks. So, to get that full protection, it'll take them a bit longer."

Also, those who are pregnant and will be delivering early in the flu season may benefit from getting the flu shot earlier.

"Their babies will not be eligible to get the flu vaccine themselves until they're 6 months of age. So making sure that the pregnant person gets their flu vaccine during the pregnancy will provide some protection to that baby after they're born," explains Dr. Rajapakse.

Other prevention tactics

The influenza vaccine isn't 100% effective, so it's also important to take several measures to lower the spread of infection, including:

• Wash your hands. Wash your hands well and often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Make sure friends and family whom you're around regularly, especially kids, know the importance of hand-washing.
• Avoid touching your face. Keeping your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth helps keep germs away from those places.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes. Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. Then wash your hands.
• Clean surfaces. Regularly clean often-touched surfaces to prevent the spread of infection from touching a surface with the virus on it and then your face.
• Avoid crowds. The flu spreads easily wherever people gather — in child care centers, schools, office buildings, auditoriums and on public transportation. By avoiding crowds during peak flu season, you lower your chances of infection.

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