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Why It’s Still Important to Get a Flu Shot during the COVID-19 Pandemic

A flu shot won’t protect you from contracting SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that getting a flu shot is “more important than ever.”

Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University, breaks down the difference between the two viruses for Shape readers.

“COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that is structurally different from the influenza virus. The antibodies the human immune system makes after receiving the flu vaccine don’t recognize SARS-CoV-2.”

Read more about flu shots from health experts in Shape.