Get a free flu shot at the Pager Living Room (no, it’s not too early, and yes, you need one)

Before this first glorious, true fall weekend of wandering apple orchards and pumpkin patches, make time for a bit of important business.

Pager, the on-demand healthcare app, is giving out free flu shots today and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. To get one, and some free Juice Press beverages, drop by the Pager Living Room at 168 Bowery at Kenmare Street.

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Getting a flu shot every year is necessary because of the incredible adaptability of the flu virus to mutate and even incorporate the DNA of its viruses into itself, but each one makes your body a little more prepared for what’s to come.

“Getting yearly flu vaccines over time may even prepare you for a wider variety of flu strains in the future,” explains Dr. Jasper Schmidt of Pager.

Everyone over the age of six months should get a flu shot.And no, it won’t make you sick: The virus in the vaccine is dead. Any symptoms you develop after getting the shot is just your body mounting a similar immune response as it would to a live virus, but infinitely less severe than the real thing, according to Schmidt.

Before Halloween may seem too early for a flu shot – the season doesn’t hit its peak until late December – but doctors actually recommend getting one by the beginning of October. It takes time to build up immunity once you’ve gotten one, and early vaccinations means a less intense flu season for everyone.