Scientists around the world are racing toward a vaccine for COVID-19, but even the most optimistic experts agree it will be some time before one is available on a mass scale. As the pandemic rages on and flu season approaches, it’s clear that preventive measures will be critical in reducing deaths and hospitalizations. A key safeguard is currently available at a doctor’s office, hospital clinic, supermarket, or pharmacy near you: the flu shot.

Although fewer than half of Americans typically get a flu shot each year, it can make a huge difference in protecting health. During the 2018–2019 season, flu vaccination prevented an estimated 2.3 million medical visits, 58,000 flu-related hospitalizations, and 3,500 flu-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In an effort to save lives and preserve hospital resources during the pandemic, the actress-singer-songwriter Rita Wilson has joined forces with the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the flu vaccine producer Sanofi Pasteur in The Race to 200 Million Flu Shots campaign. The goal is to get more people inoculated this year, particularly those who are most vulnerable to flu complications — notably, individuals with chronic health problems and the 200 million Americans who are over the age of 50.

Here Wilson talks to Everyday Health about her journey from COVID-19 patient to flu-vaccine advocate. Plus Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, the president of the ANA, weighs in on five essential things to know about the flu shot.

Not Just Jet Lag

Wilson and Hanks began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms in March, just after Wilson performed at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. “The next day I took a harbor cruise around Sydney Harbor, and it was gorgeous, and I started to feel a little chilled. And I thought, well, that’s normal, I’m still getting through jet lag and I was out in the elements all day,” says Wilson.

But the next morning she woke up feeling achy with a headache. A day later, her symptoms increased to chills and a fever, as did Hanks’s.

“That’s when the doctors came and said, we have to test you for COVID-19,” she says. “I really didn’t think we had it. I thought we just had a cold at that point, but the test came back positive, and they said they were going to need to hospitalize us, because our fevers had increased.”

After Wilson and Hanks arrived at the hospital, their symptoms worsened. “[The doctors] were very concerned about fever, but after three nights they said that our fevers had gone down enough for us to go home,” says Wilson.

‘I’ve Never Ever, Ever Been That Sick’

After being released from the hospital, Wilson experienced what she termed a “textbook” case of COVID-19 — and things began to get scary. “I had read that between days 5 and 8 it can really kick in and take a turn for the worse on some people, and that’s exactly what happened,” she says.

On top of a fever, every symptom become much more severe, including a “massive” headache that wouldn’t go away, along with nausea, gastrointestinal issues, vertigo, and a new symptom that hadn’t been clearly identified back in March: loss of taste and smell.

“I kept on saying to the doctor, has anybody else talked about to you about this, and he said no, but about a week later people were talking about it and saying that they lost that,” says Wilson.

“I’ve never, ever, ever been that sick,” she says emphatically. “It was not something I care to repeat ever again.”

Wilson estimates she was ill with COVID-19 for about two weeks, followed by a week of recovery when she was finally able to “get her wits” about her.

During that time she says she found listening to music to be “incredibly comforting and distracting.”

“I couldn’t look at a screen or watch TV, I couldn’t have that kind of concentration. I could close my eyes and listen to music, and that was very helpful,” she says. She put together a playlist called Rita Wilson’s Quarantunes that’s available on Spotify.

It Can Happen to Anyone

Wilson and Hanks decided to go public with their COVID-19 battle to let people know that this disease can happen to anyone.

“We all have had those moments in life where you hear of something happening to somebody and you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it,’ but it’s somebody you know — it’s not you,” says Wilson.

“I had breast cancer five years ago, and I realized that I was the one out of eight women who gets breast cancer. Once you go through something like that you realize that you can also get COVID-19, you can get the flu, you can get all sorts of things. That’s just life; you can’t control that.”

Wilson recalls moments during her COVID-19 illness when she was afraid for her life. “I really did not know if it was going to take that turn where it got into your lungs; I was really worried about that because everything I knew about that was very scary,” she says.

“There were people in the hospital with us on ventilators and oxygen in quite serious condition. I did not take for granted that we wouldn’t get there.”

‘You Can’t Take Any Chances’

Part of what inspired Wilson to join the ANA in the Race to 200 Million campaign was the “amazing nurses” that cared for her in the hospital. “We cannot have our healthcare system and our nurses overwhelmed the way they were when COVID-19 hit,” she says.

“COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere, and we’re entering into flu season,” Wilson says. By getting the flu shot, we can all help reduce the potential impact of a “twindemic,” she says.

“It feels to me like the smart thing to do,” Wilson adds. “We’ve seen so many people die from COVID-19 and we know people die from the flu every year — you can’t take any chances.”

Wilson recalls one Christmas when she, along with many members of her family, had the flu. “We missed out on all sorts of family gatherings and get-togethers and to me, that’s everything that I want to be doing. I don’t want to ever have to miss those things again,” she says.

RELATED: Get a Flu Shot Now, or Wait?

Five Things to Know About Getting a Flu Shot

Misconceptions, confusion, and fears about the flu vaccine are rampant. Here, Dr. Grant of the ANA shares some basic, empowering facts.

1. Getting vaccinated helps your body fight off the flu virus.

Put simply, the flu shot works by helping your immune system develop protective antibodies, explains Grant. “If you come in contact with someone who has the flu or who has the potential to transmit the flu to you, your body already recognizes it and says, ‘Hey, that’s an enemy, so to speak, and let’s start working to get this guy out of here,” he says.

2. Almost everyone should get a flu shot.

An average of 74,000 people die every year as a result of the flu in the United States, according to Grant. The people who should get the flu shot are those who are at highest risk, including people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory ailments, he says. “In many cases, these are the same groups of people who would be at risk for complications of COVID-19.”

There are certain groups who shouldn’t get the flu shot, and those people usually know who they are, says Grant. With very few exceptions, the CDC recommends everyone over 6 months old get a flu shot. If you think you may be allergic to eggs or any other ingredients in the flu shot, talk with your healthcare provider.

3. The best time to get a flu shot is early fall.

It’s never too late, but the best time is right about now, says Grant. “Mid-September through October are really the optimal times,” he says, partly because it takes a few weeks for the immune system to produce antibodies.

Most years, it wouldn’t really matter where you got your flu shot, but the pandemic has changed that, says Grant. It may be easiest and fastest to go to your local pharmacy, though your doctor’s office would still be fine provided you call ahead.

“Most pharmacies are developing these health or mini-clinics that have space that is walled off from the rest of the customers who may be there,” he says. Social distancing and masks are required while you are inside the pharmacy, adds Grant.

4. The flu shot is safe, and it can’t make you sick.

“It is very, very safe,” says Grant. “Obviously, the CDC works to figure out which strains of the flu are going to be the most prevalent each year and includes those strains in the shot,” he says.

Vaccines undergo a rigorous review of laboratory and clinical data to make sure that they are safe, effective, and pure, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency that is in charge of overseeing the flu shot.

Contrary to a belief widely circulated on social media, the flu vaccine won’t give you COVID-19, says Grant. “The flu and COVID-19 are two distinctly different illnesses. The flu cannot give you COVID-19 and COVID-19 cannot give you the flu,” he says.

“However, you can have them both at the same time, and that is why we are stressing the goal of at least 200 million Americans getting the flu shot — to reduce the risk of a person getting both illnesses,” says Grant.

Sometimes individuals may get a flu shot and then five or six days later feel like they got the flu as a result of getting the flu shot, but that’s not the case, says Grant. “You’ve either been exposed to someone who has the flu or it’s your body building up the antibodies,” he explains.

5. The flu shot can help you have a less severe case of the flu.

The flu shot isn’t 100 percent effective, but even if you do get the flu after being vaccinated, the shot still offers some protection, says Grant. “Your body begins to recognize the invader and the antibodies will help you fight off the flu so you will get a milder form,” he says.

Coronavirus: Must-Know Info

Rita Wilson Survived COVID-19 — and It Made Her a Flu-Shot Advocate

Rita Wilson on Her Journey from COVID-19 Patient to Flu-Vaccine Advocate

Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, on Flu Shot Truths & Myths