It’s Flu Season, and Your Pharmacist Has Answers

November 05, 2026

Flu season is here, and it’s shaping up to be a tough one. Our pharmacists are getting more questions than usual, so OneroRx President and Pharmacist Mike Fuller stopped by WHO-TV’s Hello Iowa! to answer some of the most common ones.

In the segment, Mike covers:

• Is it too late to get a flu shot?
• Can I get a COVID-19 shot and a flu shot at the same time?
• When is the best time to get a flu shot?
• Do I need an appointment to get a flu shot at my pharmacy?
• If I get the flu, which over-the-counter products might help?
• Are there any precautions to know about with over-the-counter flu products?
• How can I prevent the flu?

He answers those questions and several more. His main advice: when in doubt, check with your pharmacist. Whether you’re deciding when to get vaccinated or which cold and flu medicine is safe with your current prescriptions, your local pharmacist can help.

[Watch the full segment here] or read the transcript below

 

[0:16] Megan: …there is still time to prevent future sickness this upcoming season. Mike Fuller, pharmacist with Medicap Pharmacy, is here now to help us prepare. I was talking with you: flu season’s here, but it’s not too late to get your shot. In fact, we’re pretty much on schedule. Is that right?

 

[0:29] Mike: Yeah, Megan, you’re exactly right. Flu season has come on a little bit earlier this year than in past years, but it is absolutely the right time to go out and get your flu vaccine if you have not gotten it. A couple things to keep in mind: it takes two weeks to get full immunity from the vaccine, and with the holidays coming, this is the perfect time to go out and get your vaccine so you can protect not only yourself but your loved ones too.

 

[0:53] Megan: And we can also get the COVID vaccine at the same time.

 

[0:56] Mike: That is absolutely right. It’s completely safe. We do a number of co-administrations of different vaccines. If you go into your local Medicap Pharmacy, the pharmacist can work with you. There’s a state registry for immunizations, so they’ll be able to work with you to determine, hey, does it make sense for you to get a COVID vaccine, an RSV vaccine, a shingles vaccine or a pneumonia vaccine? So we can make sure you’re up to date and have all the right things.

 

[1:19] Megan: That’s exactly right. Okay, you have this great basket here with a bunch of goodies, because we can really help ourselves stay healthy and be stocked up on things in case we do get sick this time of year.

 

[1:29] Mike: Absolutely. This is just kind of an example. I break it into three categories: comfort (what could you do to be ready for comfort), what you can do to reduce fever, and then hydration. All really important when you come down with the flu. The other thing is to get it before you get sick. If we’re sick, we want to be able to stay home so we’re not spreading the flu or a cold. So here you’ve got some different things for symptoms, including cough drops, which help with that comfort. We’ve got Tylenol, we’ve got ibuprofen: great not only for aches and pains, but also to reduce fever. Other great things to keep at home are thermometers, so you can check whether you do have a fever, and then different things for symptom relief. And please come into your Medicap Pharmacy so they can work with you and you can get prepared in advance.

 

[2:18] Megan: And speaking of hydration, you’ve got some Gatorade here, things like that. Soup, that’s always comfort.

 

[2:24] Mike: Comfort food. We all love some comfort food when we’re not feeling well.

 

[2:28] Megan: What else can we do to hopefully even avoid all of this? How can we stay healthy? How can we prevent sickness?

 

[2:34] Mike: Sure. Well, number one, truly: get your flu shot. That is the number one thing you can do to help prevent it, not only for you but for your loved ones. In addition to that, good hygiene. Wash your hands with soap many times a day. Don’t touch your face or your eyes. When you do cough, use good technique and cover your mouth. And if you’re sick, stay home.

 

[2:56] Megan: That sounds so simple, and yet we always forget the hand washing and staying home when we’re sick so we don’t spread it. Our local pharmacists are a great resource for things we can take if we are sick, and even supplements, and making sure we’re keeping everything straight. Talk to us about that.

 

[3:12] Mike: Oh, absolutely. The best thing about your local pharmacist and Medicap pharmacists is that we’re accessible. We’re there. You don’t need to make an appointment; you can come in. We’ve got over 30 locations all around Iowa, so hopefully one’s very close to you. You can come in and ask questions. Maybe you need an immunization, or you just want to check in. You’ve got questions on your over-the-counter medications, questions on your other medications, vitamins. We’re here to help.

 

[3:36] Megan: Because I was talking to you a little bit before, and I see things like allergy relief, Mucinex, Zicam, all these things. We want to have them on hand. But sometimes I wonder, if we’re taking other medicines, will that counteract things like that? Is that something we should ask our pharmacist about before taking something over the counter like Zicam?

 

[3:53] Mike: Absolutely. Depending on what medication you’re taking, so many of these already have ibuprofen or Tylenol in them, and you don’t want to double up. Or maybe all you need is Tylenol or ibuprofen. And younger kids should never take aspirin. So these are all really good questions to ask your pharmacist.

 

[4:11] Megan: And as parents, too, as your kids get older, sometimes you forget about the things for younger kids. So that’s a good reminder.

 

[4:19] Mike: Absolutely.

 

[4:19] Megan: Meanwhile, back to the flu shot. Do we need to make an appointment? Can we stop in? How does all that work?

 

[4:22] Mike: Absolutely not. You can come in. We welcome walk-ins.

 

[4:27] Megan: Okay. And again, we’re still three weeks from Thanksgiving, so it is a great time to get the shot.

 

[4:30] Mike: It’s a perfect time.

 

[4:31] Megan: Well, thank you so much for being here to share all this with us, so we can stock up, prevent and be ready for any of this.

 

[4:38] Mike: Thanks for having me, Megan.

 

[4:41] Megan: For more information on Medicap Pharmacy, you can go online to MyMedicapPharmacy.com.