Free flu and COVID-19 vaccinations were available at FUSION family housing for those who are uninsured or underinsured on Oct. 6.

Both vaccines are recommended to get before Halloween to be at the lowest risk for contracting either virus.

Flu and COVID are both caused by viruses that change and develop new variants, so it is important to have the most current version to protect against the latest form. This is also why vaccines against some viruses can lose their efficacy over time and need boosters at all.

At the FUSION vaccine event, Sandeep Kaur from Aristo Healthcare said that there is some delay right now for supply of the vaccines at drug stores, but at most, people might have to wait a week or two.

Event volunteer Dr. Frank Bell said that “no one should settle for the old one,” when it comes to the former versions of the vaccines. Even if someone has received a COVID booster shot as recent as several months ago, the new booster is still recommended because it gives protection against new predominant variants that past boosters do not.

Bell also said the vaccines are important to “keep people healthy and reduce the chance of long-term effects from either COVID or the flu.”

The current COVID variant that is most prevalent often causes the now-familiar extreme fatigue and fever Kaur told The Mirror, but also said that it seems to have more stomach-related symptoms than past variants, including diarrhea. As with other variants, symptoms and their extremity vary and transmission can be reduced through mask-wearing especially in crowded indoor places, washing hands with soap and water and getting vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends getting vaccinated for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Getting all three vaccinations before the cold season sets in can “help protect people against severe illness during the fall and winter season, when these diseases are more common,” according to the CDC.

For those unable to make it to that event, there are two tools to find appointments:

• For those who do not have insurance or are underinsured: Visit prepmod.doh.wa.gov to search by zip code. Each vaccination event includes details about what vaccines are available and for what age. Most have both flu and COVID vaccines available.

• For those with insurance: Visit www.vaccines.gov to use their flu and/or COVID vaccine search tools.