In the early days of COVID, that was a common argument among people opposed to lockdowns or other measures designed to prevent the virus’ spread.

After all, flu comes along every winter, and we don’t stay indoors and shut down activities and basically bring everything to a stop for the flu, right?

Of course, COVID was never “just like the flu.” As the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health pointed out in October 2020, by that point – only six months into the crisis – COVID had already killed more people in the United States than the flu had in the past five years. 

However, maybe, just maybe, COVID is soon to be “just like the flu.” Lockdowns are a thing of the past, and in most cases mask-wearing is optional even as hundreds of people are still dying daily.

Additionally, Biden administration officials announced last week that, “in the absence of a dramatically different variant,” as Dr. Anthony Fauci put it, COVID booster shots could become like the flu shot. Instead of boosters coming online every few months – including the new one intended to fight both the original virus and Omicron variants – people could get one booster a year.

Of course, the trick will be getting people to roll up their sleeves for the booster shot. According to the New Hampshire COVID-19 Response website, 72 percent of New Hampshire residents had at least one dose as of Sept. 9, and 62.8 percent had completed their primary series. However, only 31.6 percent of state residents have had a booster shot.

If flu vaccine percentages are any guide as to how people will respond to a yearly COVID booster, a CDC report from the 2020-2021 flu season stated that 59.7 percent of New Hampshire adults got their flu shot. That was third in the country behind Massachusetts and Rhode Island, but it still means two in five adults didn’t get a shot.

The best protection against COVID is to get vaccinated. Even if you haven’t gotten your initial shots, it’s not too late.

So please, for everyone’s health and safety, get vaccinated, get boosted and get your flu shot, too.