Imagine there was one simple thing you could do in under 10 minutes that could protect you from being miserably sick for several days or longer this winter. You wouldn’t hesitate to do it, right? Well, that easy step is getting this season’s flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
Flu and COVID-19 are common respiratory illnesses with symptoms that can range from mild all the way to fatal. We’re not talking mere sniffles here. Every year, during the fall and winter seasons, respiratory viruses cause hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations – and tens of thousands of deaths. And during the 2023-2024 respiratory virus season, COVID-19 hospitalization rates for Black adults were nearly 25% higher than they were for Hispanic and White adults1.
If you’re still not convinced that getting vaccinated is worth a quick stop at your doctor’s office or pharmacy, here’s more information.
You may completely avoid getting sick at all
While their primary function is to decrease the severity of symptoms, vaccines may help you from becoming sick in the first place. With a nearly painless flu shot, you could get through the holiday season and beyond without even a sneeze or body ache. In the 2023-2024 flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu shot prevented more than seven million people from getting the flu and nearly four million medical visits, over 100,000 hospitalizations, and 3,500 flu-related deaths2.
Flu viruses change from year to year. So, the vaccine is updated to target the current strains of flu circulating in your community. That’s why you need to get an annual flu vaccine to stay protected each year.
You have less risk of getting severely ill
COVID-19 is also still making people seriously ill. Last year, 900,000 people in the U.S. were hospitalized and 75,000 people died because of it3. Being up to date with the 2024-2025 vaccines means that if you do get the flu or COVID-19, you’re more likely to have mild symptoms, even if you have pre-existing health conditions like heart disease, lung disease, obesity, or diabetes.
You may feel better sooner
Now is the best time to help protect yourself from severe respiratory illness this fall and winter. Flu and COVID-19 vaccines are available at most pharmacies and many doctors' offices, and you can get both vaccines at the same appointment.
Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance cover all or most vaccine costs. And, if you don’t have health insurance, most states provide free flu and COVID-19 vaccines through their health department clinics.
Risk less. Do more. Get this season’s vaccines.
Click here to find out where to get vaccinated.
Sources:
1 https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#covidnet-hospitalization-network
2 https://www.cdc.gov/flu/whats-new/flu-summary-2023-2024.html
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