Wondering whether or when you should get your seasonal vaccines this year? Well (provided your doctor agrees), the answers are yes; and, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, right now.

Staying up-to-date is important for the latest COVID-19 vaccines, flu shots and maybe even respiratory syncytial virus, if you are of a certain age or risk group.

“Right now is the best time” to get all the recommended fall vaccinations, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s “the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself, your family, your community.”

Yet last year only 45% of adults got flu shots and only 23% got a COVID-19 shot. A survey by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases suggests the numbers may be just as low this year.

This despite knowing that last year COVID-19 again killed more people than did the flu — and both illnesses can lead to hospitalization and death.

“It may not prevent every infection but those infections are going to be less severe,” said CDC’s Dr. Demetre Daskalakis. “I would rather have my grandmother or my great-grandmother have a sniffle than have to go to the emergency room on Thanksgiving.”

According to the Associated Press, the vaccines are supposed to be covered under Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance plans for those using an in-network provider. Health departments across the country have received funding to improve access for those who are uninsured.

Don’t hesitate. In many cases, the shots can be given all at once though “your arm may hurt and you may feel crummy for a day,” according to Daskalakis.

That’s a small price to pay for keeping you and your family safer this fall and winter.

Go get it done.