National Influenza Vaccination Week
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National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is an annual observance in December to remind everyone 6 months and older that there’s still time to get vaccinated against flu. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications, including people with certain chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. In fact, in past flu seasons, 9 out of 10 adults hospitalized for flu had at least one underlying medical condition.
Since flu viruses are constantly changing and protection from vaccination decreases over time, getting a flu vaccine every year is the best way to prevent flu. Flu vaccines are the only vaccines that protect against flu and are proven to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death. Since COVID-19 and flu could spread simultaneously this winter, it’s especially important this year to get a flu shot to reduce your risk of a possible co-infection with both viruses.
Together, we can use NIVW as a nationwide call to action to encourage everyone 6 months and older to get their annual flu shot, especially those at higher risk. The more people vaccinated against flu, the more people are protected from flu.
We hope you will join us this year as we encourage everyone — especially those most vulnerable — to protect themselves and their loved ones from flu this season. More information is available on our seasonal flu webpage.
Resources:
CDC