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“For the past several years at least, we've had two increases of COVID a year. There's a summer increase, and then it abates, and then we have another, and usually larger, winter

increase,” says William Schaffner, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. “And we know that the COVID

vaccines provide good protection in the short-term, but by the time you get to month four, five and six, that protection begins to wane.” The idea is a second shot in the spring can protect

older adults through the summer surge, until an updated vaccine is released in the fall, he explains.   5. THE (MOSTLY MILD) SIDE EFFECTS REMAIN THE SAME  Not everyone experiences side

effects after vaccination, but some people do, and the FDA says for those individuals, there are no surprises with the updated vaccines. Common side effects can include: * Pain, swelling and

redness at the injection site  * Fatigue * Headache * Muscle pain * Chills * Nausea * Fever Side effects tend to be mild and generally go away in a few days, the CDC says. “These updated

vaccines meet the agency’s rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality,” Peter Marks, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and

Research, said in a statement. 6. YOU CAN GET YOUR COVID AND FLU SHOTS AT THE SAME TIME If you’re looking to save time and an extra trip to the clinic, you can get your COVID vaccine and flu

shot — even the RSV vaccine, too — at the same time. The optimal time to get the flu shot is September and October, the CDC says. Where you live may influence your decision on whether to

pair up flu and COVID vaccines. “The northern half of the country tends to see the flu season start close to a month earlier than the southern part of the country,” Guest says. “And so in

the northern states, I would not even consider waiting. I would go ahead and get both if they were available. If they are not available for some reason, and only COVID is, I would get the

COVID [vaccine now] and then go back [for your flu shot].” 7. AN UPDATED VACCINE FROM NOVAVAX IS AUTHORIZED Novavax’s vaccine — which uses a more traditional (protein-based) technology from

the mRNA vaccines — was authorized by the FDA on Aug. 30 for individuals 12 and older. Instead of targeting the KP.2 variant, Novavax’s 2024-2025 vaccine targets JN.1, which the company

describes as “the ‘parent strain’ of currently circulating variants.” It’s expected to provide strong protection from the variants that are spreading, Rupp says.