Public officials displayed confidence as several Cook County leaders rolled up their sleeves for COVID-19 and flu shots, to increase vaccination rates to reduce hospitalizations and deaths this fall and winter.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other officials got their own vaccinations Friday for both COVID-19 and the flu, emphasizing that the vaccines and strains vary each year. COVID-19 cases are on the rise across Chicago,

Flu season approaches and there's a new COVID variant. The time to act is now, or soon, according to the two largest local hospital systems.

The CDC recommends everyone age six months or older get a flu vaccination. You might not want to get the shot quite this early, though, because the effectiveness does wane over time and flu season in the U.S. typically peaks in February.

With the peak flu season often occurring during December and January and even into February, Dr. Sharon Nachman, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, suggested that residents receive their vaccines in a few weeks.

With the flu season imminent, new COVID-19 and influenza vaccines are available. What’s new with the vaccines and when should you get them?

Reformulated flu and COVID-19 shots are available to Oregonians starting this month. And an RSV vaccine — developed only last year — could have an unprecedented impact keeping infants out of the hospital this fall and winter.

September and October are considered the best times for vaccination. As of now, seasonal flu activity remains low nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In New Jersey, flu activity can ramp up in late fall or even as late as January.