It's not too late to get your flu shot this year

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- If you haven't gotten a flu shot yet, it's not too late. And now - before the holidays - is a good time to get vaccinated.

We never know exactly when the flu virus will hit but it typically peaks in January. It starts building around the holidays.

Spending time with family, being indoors around large crowds and traveling all put you at a greater risk for being exposed to germs.

It takes several weeks after getting the shot for your body to build full immunity, so now is a good time to get the flu shot.

The vaccine is recommended for everyone six-months-old and older. It helps protect everyone in the community.

"Getting the vaccine is the best thing you can do to protect yourself against influenza. Perhaps, more importantly in some settings, is the fact that the more people who get vaccinated, the less flu spreads around," said Dr. Susan Rehm, Cleveland Clinic.

The flu is unpredictable. But we do know last season, the virus was responsible for as many as 80,000 deaths.

Most of the children who died had not been vaccinated.

The flu shot doesn't use live virus so it can't actually give you the flu. But you may have a sore arm or feel slightly achy as your body starts to build immunity.

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