Getting Vaccinated Against Flu and COVID-19: What You Need to Know

When winter comes knocking on our doorsteps, so does a host of illnesses like flu and COVID-19. It's not too late, however, to have a fun and healthy holiday season by getting vaccinated against these viruses.

Here’s some things you should know:

The Flu

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting the flu vaccine.

Flu vaccination has been shown to reduce the severity of illness in people who get sick. It also helps to reduce hospitalizations and deaths.

All flu vaccines in the U.S. are trivalent and are formulated to protect against the three main groups of influenza Type A and B viruses.

People with higher risk of flu complications should especially get the flu vaccine. They are:

• Children under the age of 5
• Adults 65 years of age and older
• Pregnant women
• Nursing home and long-term care facility residents
• American Indians and Alaskan Natives
• Those with chronic conditions such as asthma, lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, or a weakened immune system

COVID-19

The CDC recommends those ages 6 months and older get a 2024–25 COVID-19 vaccine, especially if you are 65 and older, are at high risk for severe COVID-19, or have never received a COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccine helps protect you from severe illness, hospitalization and death. Even if you received the vaccine before, protection decreases over time, so it is important to get the most updated COVID-19 vaccine.

“COVID-19 is still generally presenting with respiratory symptoms, but the neurologic symptoms—loss of smell, taste, etcetera—also still occur,” says Jeffrey Feit, MD, Chief Population and Community Health Officer and Chief Medical Information Officer. “If you’ve not had COVID-19 recently and not had a vaccine recently, getting a booster should improve your ability to avoid a new infection and reduce the chances of serious illness if you do get sick.”

You can get the COVID-19 and flu vaccine together.

For more information, visit CDC.gov.