Doctors, pharmacies offering flu shots earlier this season

NEW YORK (WABC) -- If you haven't been offered a flu shot yet at your local pharmacy, you soon will be.

This season, pharmacies across the country are offering the shots much earlier than usual, as in right now.

But is getting the vaccination now the best for you and your family?

This year's flu vaccine is the same as last year, but you still need to get one every year because your immunity wears off over time.

So how long does the flu shot protect you, and is it too soon to get one? The answer is not black and white, as it depends on how strongly your immune system responds to the vaccine. Studies suggest that most people are protected for one entire flu season.

The CDC recommends that once the vaccine is available, go ahead and get it. And definitely get one before the flu season officially starts in October. The vaccine takes a couple weeks to kick in, and supplies often run low once the season peaks.

"We think everyone should get vaccinated as soon as possible," said Dr. Neal Shipley, co-owner of Urgent Care Manhattan. "We would recommend everyone who's eligible to get vaccinated and certainly by October."

The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months, but it is thought that the immune response may drop a little faster for older adults. To combat that, there is a high-dose vaccine designed specifically for people over 65 that may protect a little longer. At Urgent Care Manhattan, they see what happens when people wait too long.

"The flu can put them in the hospital, give them pneumonia and there are thousands of people who die from influenza," Dr. Shipley said. "And it's preventable."

So even if it feels too soon now, the flu is like fashion.

"I mean, listen, they have winter clothes in July," one drugstore patron named Pauline told us. "So everything gets rushed."

After all, it's better to beat the season and be ready.