GD9 CTW fileÒ  Medical006, Û The flu is a killer disease. We tend to dismiss it by calling it the flu, but we should call it viral influenza. It kills thousands of people a year in this country, so it's a very serious disease. Typically, the flu season really swings into action in December, January, and February. It takes about two to six weeks to build up an immunity after a flu shot, so early November is the ideal time to get your flu shot. Older people are less able to resist the complications of the flu. People with serious chronic diseases are in this same category. People who reside in institutional settings, especially older people, are also at greater risk because flu can spread around an institution very rapidly. Health-care workers and children taking aspirin are also at high risk for catching the flu. When you are in an office setting or are in any work setting where you are constantly exposed to people, you have a greater chance of getting the flu. So, a lot of people, even though they are young and healthy, will get a flu shot just so they don't run the risk of being knocked out of commission for a week or so. It is largely a myth that flu shots make you sick. Thirty years ago, the flu shots often did make people quite sick, but the newer kinds of vaccines that are used don't make people sick. People who get a flu shot can still get a common cold. Frequently, these people get a flu shot and then get a cold and think the flu shot didn't work, when the flu shot was not responsible.