Flu season is creeping in with the colder temperatures, so it's time again to look at getting a flu shot.

Nobody likes getting the flu. The sore throats, headaches, runny noses and chills are best avoided, especially for a working adult, let alone anyone still in school. 

The best way to avoid the flu is to prepare for it. Aside from warm chicken soup and woolly socks, the best thing to do is get a flu shot.

Dr. David Torr, division lead for the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and Medical Health Officer for the Southwest part of the province, is encouraging folks to up their defence by getting the shot this year.

"If you had influenza before, or even had immunization before, the influenza virus changes itself so that it's not as easily recognized by the body and therefore can give you quite a serious infection," Torr pointed out. "The thing with influenza is it's not like the everyday common cold. Influenza is a much more severe illness, and it can cause quite a very strong illness that really puts you down."

The flu shot introduces a weakened version of the flu, that your body is able to easily fight and adapt to. After it learns from the weakened version of the virus, it becomes more adept at combatting it the next time it runs into it in the wild.

"As COVID has sort of settled a little bit...," began Torr. "...we've started seeing many other respiratory viruses coming up. In other jurisdictions of the world where they've just gone through their winters, they have actually observed a pretty nasty influenza season."

If you would like to book your flu shot, you can do so online on the Saskatchewan Health Authority website.