Hello Sanjay, my family and I have been quarantining since March. We social distance, we do not go to grocery stores. We are not interacting with anybody.

Should we get the flu vaccine this year?

I usually wait to get my flu vaccine until November so that it would be most effective during what I thought is the flu season. Should I wait this year?

Hello Dr. Gupta, I'm in my early 70s and wondering why I need a flu shot this year when I'm sheltering at home by myself, not going anywhere except for solitary blocks.

As you know doubt, no by now, we are coming upon flu season. And with it, there have been concerns about a double whammy health crisis. That means a convergence of both flu and coronavirus at the same time this fall.

So anything we can do to reduce flu is going to be particularly important this year. It's going to help save lives. It's going to help reduce the burden on hospitals.

I've been getting all sorts of questions from listeners about the influenza vaccine. So in today's episode, I'm going to talk you through what you need to know about this year's flu shot.

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent. And this is coronavirus fact versus fiction.

There is the perfect storm where we have COVID and we have flu and they hit at the same time.

That's emergency room physician Dr. Daria Long.

But the good news is that there is now this possibility that if we take the steps to mask, to socially distance, to get flu vaccines, then we can impact the flu season this year.

You may not know this, but influenza is one of the top 10 leading causes of death each year in the United States. In fact, during last year's flu season from October 2019 to April 2020,

the CDC estimated that there were as many as 56 million cases of the flu and up to 62,000 deaths. Compare that now to the over 200,000 deaths caused by COVID here in the United States.

But there's an important difference. We do have an influenza vaccine. And this year, it's more important than ever. So let's answer some basic questions.

First up, why do I need a flu shot? Well, the flu shot is a life-saving public health tool. It's also one of our best defenses against a virus that kills and sickens way too many people each year.

By getting the flu shot, you not only protect yourself, but you also help prevent the spread throughout our communities. That may help lessen the burden on hospitals and medical staff.

And if the beds are full with COVID patients, they will be very challenging for the health care system to deal with other respiratory diseases.

That's Maria Vanker-Cov from the World Health Organization.

The good news is that we have a flu vaccine. So we really need to see flu vaccination uptake increased across the Northern Hemisphere this year, especially this year, so that because we have a tool against flu, we don't yet have that for COVID, but we have it for flu.

And that will help, and it particularly help vulnerable populations.

And if that isn't reason enough to get the vaccine, listen to this. Earlier this summer, researchers reported that receiving the flu shot may in fact lower your risk of having a heart attack, a stroke, or another cardiovascular condition.

Next, will the flu vaccine protect me from coronavirus as well? Well, unfortunately, no. The flu shot does not protect you from the coronavirus. These are different viruses.

...