Flu and COVID vaccines are available.

The flu shots are free with most insurance providers.

But these days, instead of getting one shot, people can get the COVID vaccine and their flu shot at the same time.

Like most viruses, COVID and the flu are most active in the fall and winter months, according to the CDC. That’s why experts recommend getting the vaccines simultaneously.

Start vaccinating early, so immune systems can pick up the vaccine properly. By the time winter rolls around, the body is prepared for battle.

“Efforts to maximize the proportion of people in the United States who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines remain critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic,” the CDC says on its website.

The problem is telling which virus you have.

Winter is the peak time fore disease to spread.(Graph by CDC)

CDC has broken it down:

Flu is fairly fast-acting. COVID takes a little longer to run its course.

“While the virus that causes COVID-19 and flu viruses are thought to spread in similar ways, the virus that causes COVID-19 is generally more contagious than flu viruses. Also, COVID-19 has been observed to have more super-spreading events than flu. This means the virus that causes COVID-19 can quickly and easily spread to a lot of people and result in continual spreading among people as time progresses,” the CDC said.

While getting the flu is common, CDC still recommends people test, just in case.