Stay Flu Free This Fall
DOH recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone aged six months and older
With the joys of fall weather and events comes increased flu activity. Get your flu vaccine now to get your immune system ready for fall and winter. That way you, your loved ones, and your fall plans remain flu free.
DOH recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone aged six months and older, including pregnant and nursing people. It is especially important for adults 65 years and older, young children, pregnant people, and people who are immunocompromised — they are at higher risk of hospitalization and death from the flu. Family, friends, and coworkers of people who are at higher risk can help protect their loved ones and coworkers by getting the flu vaccine. People aged 65 and older are recommended to get higher-dose or “adjuvanted” vaccines over standard-dose vaccines. Adjuvanted vaccines have an extra ingredient in them to make them more effective for the immune systems of older people.
In Washington state, the 2022–2023 flu year was the deadliest in the past five years. Current reports show a total of 269 people died from the flu in Washington: 264 adults and 5 children. Nationwide, between 17,000 and 98,000 people died, and between 290,000 and 670,000 hospitalizations. CDC flu vaccination estimates for the 2022–2023 year show fewer than half of adults and about three in five children received a flu vaccination.
Do your part to keep your community flu free, get your yearly flu vaccine and practice flu prevention habits. Cover your coughs and sneezes, wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water, and stay home when you’re sick.
Where to get your vaccine:
- Vaccines are available at your provider’s office, a pharmacy, or a clinic.
- Most insurance plans, including Apple Health, cover the cost of flu vaccine for adults. In Washington, all children under age 19 get flu vaccines at no cost.
- You can find where to get vaccinated near you by searching Vaccines.gov.
- You can receive your flu vaccine and other vaccines you may be due for at the same appointment.
What to know about the flu vaccine:
- It takes two weeks for the flu vaccine to protect you from flu.
- The flu vaccine does NOT protect against COVID-19, colds, or other viruses that cause respiratory illness.
- Some people who get the flu vaccine may still get sick. If you do get the flu, the vaccine will help reduce the severity of your illness. It will also lower your chance of needing to go to the hospital.
Allergic to eggs?
People with an egg allergy may safely receive any flu vaccine (egg based or non-egg based) that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health status. Additional safety measures are no longer recommended.
Flu Facts
Here are some flu facts to keep in mind as flu activity increases this fall. Staying informed can help you prevent the spread of flu and prevent the spread of misinformation.
You can spread the flu even when you don’t feel sick.
The flu can spread to others days before you know you’re sick. The flu spreads easily from person to person by coughing and sneezing and can spread by touching infected surfaces.
Kids are contagious longer than adults.
Adults can infect others one day before symptoms develop and five to seven days after becoming sick. Kids can spread the virus longer than seven days after becoming sick.
Even if you’ve had the flu before, you may not be immune.
Viruses that cause the flu change frequently. That is why it is so important to get a new flu vaccine every year, because the flu vaccines you had in the past may not protect against the strains most common this year.
Antibiotics don’t work on the flu, but there are other medications that do.
Antibiotics are an effective treatment for bacterial infections, but are not effective against viral infections, like the flu. Antiviral medication may be effective at lessening your flu symptoms, but you’ll need to start treatment quickly. Talk with your doctor right away if you’re diagnosed with the flu.
Keep an eye on flu this year — use these resources to learn more:
Stay up to date on respiratory illness activity in Washington using DOH’s Respiratory Illness dashboard.
Learn about preventing the flu & find more flu information at FluFreeWA.org
