[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by orthodoc

It's okay to get a flu shot if you have some cold symptoms, but better to wait if you're running a fever.

Influenza is mostly transmitted by large droplets but also via aerosols. That means that hand-washing, not touching your face, and staying six feet away from others are helpful things to do (most large droplets fall via gravity within six feet). In a crowd where someone could sneeze directly in your face, wearing a mask could protect you against large droplets. However, aerosols hang in the air for prolonged periods and masks don't stop them. That's why you can still get influenza even if you do everything 'right' and even if you haven't been directly exposed to anyone sick. All you have to do is walk into a space where someone sneezed/coughed out small droplets an hour earlier.

A 'flu shot only protects against true influenza, not against the other viral upper respiratory infections that float around. But it's worth it to avoid the worst, or even the usual, that influenza can do.

I've got one of these and I can swap out the HEPA filters (purple) with Organic Vapor / Acid Gas filters. I am an upper respiratory cooties magnet.