Flu

Flu

Everyone is at risk for flu, even healthy people. But YOU HAVE THE POWER to protect yourself and your loved ones from serious illness, hospitalization and even death due to flu. Get yourself and your family members (6 months and older) vaccinated against flu every year.

September and October are the best months to get your flu vaccine.

Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones 

The flu vaccine is the best tool we have to prevent serious illness and flu-related complications like hospitalization and even death.

The flu vaccine:

    • Helps keep you from getting sick with flu.
    • Reduces the severity of your flu illness even if you do get the flu.
    • Helps protect you and people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.
    • Can be lifesaving in children.

In addition to getting a flu vaccine every year, it is also important to be up to date with your COVID vaccination and possibly (depending on your age and health), an RSV immunization. And yes, its safe to get your flu, COVID and RSV vaccines at the same time.

2023-24 Flu Season

CDC estimates that there have been at least 35 million illnesses, 390,000 hospitalizations, and 25,000 deaths (including 178 children) from flu so far this season.

For the most up-to-date information on this year’s flu season, visit CDC’s Seasonal Flu.

2024-25 Flu Season

CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age and older receive an updated 2024-2025 flu vaccine this fall and winter.

In the District

Find a flu vaccine – and a COVID vaccine/booster – location near you by visitng Vaccines.gov

Visit DC Health’s Flu Site and their Influenza Surveillance Dashboard.

The Symptoms of Flu

Flu symptoms usually come on suddenly. People who are sick with flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:

  • Fever/feeling feverish or chills (Not everyone with flu will have a fever)
  • Cough
  • Sore throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headaches
  • Tiredness
  • Vomiting and diarrhea (More common in children than adults)

Not sure if it is a cold or flu? Click here.

Click here to view the similarities and differences between flu and COVID.

Get Your Flu Vaccine Every Year

Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year. It takes 2 weeks for the vaccine to start providing protection against serious flu illness.

Everyone is at risk of getting sick with the flu, but some people are at even higher risk of serious flu illness, hospitalization and even death. Those include:

  • Adults 65 years and older
  • Young children
    • Even though all children younger than 5 are at higher risk of serious flu complications, the highest risk is for children younger than 2 years old. with the highest hospitalization and death rates among infants under 6 months old.
  • Pregnant people and people up to 2 weeks after pregnancy
    • Changes to the immune system, heart, and lungs during pregnancy cause these people to be at a higher risk of serious flu complications. Flu may also be harmful for their developing baby.
  • People of all ages with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, heart disease and sickle cell
  • People with weakened immune systems due to disease (such as people with HIV or AIDS, or some cancers like leukemia) or disease treatments (such as people getting chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer, or people on corticosteroids or other drugs that suppress their immune system)

Getting vaccinated also helps protect others you come into contact with, like family members, friends, co-workers, and community members. 

Flu and Flu Vaccine Resources