Don’t wait for a holiday surge. Now is a good time to get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines

AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health officials say it’s important to get flu and COVID-19 vaccines ahead of the holidays when respiratory bugs tend to spread. While virus numbers are not high right now in the U.S., health experts say COVID-19 tends to jump in the winter months, a rise that usually starts around Thanksgiving and peaks in January. That coincides with flu season, which tends to begin in November or December and peak in January or February. It takes the body about two weeks to build up immunity after either shot — meaning vaccination is needed before these viruses start spreading.