Get the Flu Shot If You’re Worried About the Coronavirus
The coronavirus can generate predatory headlines , but so far, it’s not that big of a risk for most of us. There are only a few cases worldwide, and if you haven’t been to Wuhan, China, your cough is probably just a cold. However, if you’re worried, do it with your nervous energy: get the damn flu shot.
To be clear, the flu shot does not protect against the coronavirus. This is a different virus. But the first signs of both are similar: respiratory symptoms (such as coughing) and fever. If you get the flu shot, you will have a little more peace of mind if you start coughing. The flu shot isn’t perfect, but it prevents many flu cases and can make others less severe.
There are benefits to others, too: If you seek medical help for the flu in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak, you are doing more work for hospital staff and possibly causing additional anxiety for yourself. But you could have prevented the flu with a vaccine that you should get anyway … so why not?
There’s a bigger reason for getting the flu shot, too: The flu has killed and will almost certainly kill many more people this year than the new coronavirus. Between 20,000 and 60,000 Americans die from the flu every year, mostly very young, very old, or immunocompromised people. And they often get it from healthy people who haven’t bothered to get the flu shot. So if you think that bingeing a deadly virus is bad, just get the flu shot already.