Flu shot

I got my first flu shot today.  I always mean to, and then miss the deadline.  (Why are they being given out in the middle of November anyway?  They take a week or two to take effect.  Shouldn't you give them out in October?)  I figured that it was extra important to get one this year since I'm spending a lot of time at the gym, which seems like an absolute paradise for infectious germs.  A couple times over the past four and a half years I've missed work due to the flu, and while I'm all for missing work, I'd rather miss work for a good reason and not being too sick to move.