(Radio Iowa) – October will arrive on Wednesday which marks the start of flu season in Iowa, and a pharmacist in northeast Iowa is urging people statewide to get vaccinated now. Ashley Brehme, pharmacist and owner of Brehme Drug in Manchester, says this season’s shot was created based on plenty of research. “When the vaccines are developed, the scientists use research to try to predict which strain is going to be prevalent for that flu season,” Brehme says, “so they use the best data that they can to kind of predict.”

The C-D-C says about 300-thousand Iowans get the flu every year, and an average of one-thousand die from it, along with complications from pneumonia. The vaccines do not contain live virus, but cold-like symptoms can develop as the body builds the antibodies needed to ward off influenza. “Pretty much any vaccine that we get takes about two weeks for our body to build up our immunity. So when we’re getting the vaccine, you want to get it at least two weeks prior to when you want it active,” she says.

“A lot of people will come in and get their flu shot around the holidays, around Thanksgiving time. We have people come in that week. It’s really not early enough to have your coverage when you’re getting together with your family and your friends.” State health officials say the flu is generally spread to others when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Flu symptoms include: cough, fever, chills, sore throat, muscle or body aches, runny or stuffy nose, headache, fatigue. Brehme says it’s important to get the vaccine early, and it should last well into next year.

“We do see immunity wean off with the flu vaccine,” she says. “Typically we say we’re covered for six months pretty strong. I usually recommend getting the vaccine around October time, so that kind of carries us over through, sometimes we have the waves of influenza in the spring.”

While most insurance companies cover flu shots, for those without insurance, Brehme says they’re not costly, and they could be a lifesaver.