ATLANTA — With flu season just weeks away, health experts are urging Metro Atlanta residents to start planning when to get vaccinated.

Dr. Sarah Dupont says timing is key. “The best time to get the flu shot is actually in mid-October to early November,” she explained.

That’s because flu activity in Georgia typically picks up in late November and peaks in January.

Dr. Dupont says people who get vaccinated in mid-fall will have protection in place just as flu season begins; and that protection will carry through holiday gatherings and the peak months of January and February.

“The shot is most effective for the first six months after you get it,” Dupont said. “So right now we’re in the ‘prepare for flu season’ phase, but we expect to start seeing a pick-up of cases in another couple of months.”

WSB’s Sabrina Cupit contributed to this story