Ugo Nwachukwu, Pharm.D.: Your Winter Vaccination Game Plan

In an interview with The Educated Patient, Ugo Nwachukwu, Pharm.D., a pharmacy manager at Walmart 2258 in Alexandria, Virginia, emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and overall health prevention as we approach the end-of-year holiday season.

Nwachukwu highlights that the holiday season is a prime time to focus on health and prevention, especially with increased travel and gatherings, and stresses the importance of getting vaccinated against seasonal illnesses, particularly the flu, which should be top of mind. He recommends getting the flu vaccine between late September and early October to ensure the body has adequate time (around two weeks) to develop immunity before flu season peaks.

Beyond the flu, Nwachukwu touches on several other important vaccines, particularly for respiratory illnesses, including the following:

• RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine: especially crucial for children and elderly individuals.
• Pneumonia vaccine: essential for preventing serious respiratory infections.
• COVID-19 vaccine: significant for global health and is particularly relevant during colder months when people gather indoors.
• Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccines (Tdap/Dtap): important for preventing whooping cough (pertussis), tetanus and diphtheria. He says that pregnant women should receive the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy to help confer immunity to their newborns and urges caregivers, such as grandparents and other close contacts, get vaccinated to protect vulnerable infants.

Nwachukwu says a common concern he encounters is the belief that vaccines, particularly the flu shot, can cause illness. However, modern vaccines are either inactivated or live attenuated, meaning they cannot cause the illness they are designed to prevent. Symptoms following a vaccine are more likely due to an existing virus in the body or the state of one’s immune system at the time of vaccination. He encourages individuals to maintain healthy habits — adequate rest, nutrition and stress management — to support their immune response.

Ultimately, the best way to safeguard against preventable diseases and support both individual and community health, especially during the winter months when people are more likely to be in close contact, is to get vaccinated.