Medical pros have heard every excuse in the book, especially when it comes to annual flu shots.

Here’s the deal: Unless you’re an infant, you probably should be getting vaccinated every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And given last year’s unusually devastating flu toll — an estimated 900,000 hospitalizations and 80,000 flu-related deaths in the US — you should arm your immune system in whatever way you can.

Getting vaccinated isn’t fun. It doesn’t feel great. But that doesn’t matter: Experts say these flimsy excuses are no good reason to skip it.

Less than thrilled about having your arm jabbed? Luckily, it’s not the only option this year. The CDC has approved the use of a nasal-mist form of flu vaccine, which has been out of commission since 2016 because manufacturers couldn’t match their vaccines to circulating viral strains. This year’s mist is just as effective as the shot, the CDC says, and is OK for use in most people between the ages of 2 and 49 who aren’t pregnant. Nothing to sneeze at!

That might be true if your overbooked doctor were the only one authorized to give flu vaccines. But in reality, you have way more flexibility, says Jeannie Orzano, a Queens-based nurse practitioner with the CVS MinuteClinic. Pharmacies like hers, as well as scores of supermarkets and urgent-care clinics, now offer flu shots, in many cases outside normal business hours and very often to walk-ins. Independent reviews have found that such clinics are just as safe as doctors’ offices for getting a flu shot — not to mention quicker, Orzano adds. “Patients are here and gone in 10 minutes,” she says.

The flu vaccine isn’t an instant shield. It takes a couple of weeks to actually kick your immune system into gear, which means you need to prepare now — not scramble in defense once everyone in your subway car starts coughing and sneezing all over you. Besides, flu can hit communities basically any time from now through spring. “We see the flu as early as October,” says Orzano. “Once the flu is present in the community, there’s a much greater risk [to you].” While it’s never too late to get the vaccine, she says, it’s just smarter to get it now.

As with any vaccine, in rare cases, allergic reactions can occur. But there’s literally no way for flu vaccines to cause the flu, Orzano says. The injectable form of the flu vaccine is made from inactive virus. Worst-case scenario is that it’ll leave your arm a little achy, she says. (In that case, apply an ice pack.) And while the nasal mist is made from a live virus that can leave you feeling slightly under the weather for a day or so, it’s a weakened viral variant that cannot cause flu or replicate in the body’s warm interior, the CDC reports. That’s better than being hospitalized with the real thing.

Granted, there’s some scientific guesswork in developing flu vaccines. Researchers crunch data months in advance to pinpoint the influenza strains most likely to circulate in fall, then fine-tune their formulas accordingly. Some years’ forecasts pan out better than others’ — last year’s wasn’t great, which likely explains the spike in hospitalizations. But even when the flu vaccine isn’t a perfect match for the viruses that gain traction, people who are vaccinated are less likely to get seriously sick even if they are infected. “The duration and severity of symptoms will often be curbed,” Orzano says.

Flu shots are one of the few medical expenses that are widely affordable out of pocket — $50 or under at most clinics. (Orzano’s CVS clinic charges $50 for the shot.) For uninsured folks in the Big Apple this year, the New York Department of Health is also running a program in partnership with Walgreens and Duane Reade to provide vouchers for free shots. Contact your neighborhood pharmacy to learn more and find participating locations.