Why Your Flu Shot Matters Every Year
Why Getting Your Flu Shot Matters
Flu season comes around every year, but that does not mean getting sick has to be inevitable.
A yearly flu vaccine is one of the simplest steps you can take to help protect yourself from influenza and reduce the risk of serious complications if you do get sick.
The flu vaccine is not about guaranteeing that you will never catch the flu. It is about lowering your risk, reducing the severity of illness and giving your immune system a head start before flu begins circulating widely in your community.
Flu Can Be More Serious Than It Seems
For many people, flu means several uncomfortable days of fever, cough, fatigue and body aches. For others, particularly older adults, young children and people with certain chronic medical conditions, influenza can lead to serious complications.
During an average flu season in the United States, influenza causes millions of illnesses, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands to tens of thousands of deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The impact can be especially significant during severe seasons. During the 2024–2025 flu season, the CDC estimates influenza resulted in between 560,000 and 1.1 million hospitalizations and 38,000 to 99,000 deaths in the United States.¹
Those numbers are an important reminder that influenza is more than an inconvenience.
The Flu Vaccine Helps Reduce Your Risk
Flu vaccines are updated regularly to help protect against the influenza viruses expected to circulate during the upcoming season.
For the 2026–2027 flu season, all three virus components of U.S. seasonal flu vaccines were updated from the previous season based on which strains experts expect to be most important.²
The vaccine cannot prevent every case of influenza, and effectiveness varies from year to year. However, vaccination consistently reduces the overall impact of flu.
During seasons when the vaccine strains are well matched to circulating viruses, vaccination has reduced the risk of needing medical care for influenza by approximately 40% to 60%.³
That means vaccination can make a meaningful difference even though it cannot provide perfect protection.
Vaccination Can Still Help If You Get the Flu
One of the most important benefits of vaccination is sometimes overlooked:
The flu vaccine can help make influenza less severe even if you still become infected.³
Research reviewed by the CDC has found that vaccination can reduce the risk of serious outcomes, including hospitalization and intensive care.
Among adults hospitalized with influenza, studies have found that people who had been vaccinated were less likely to experience severe complications. A review cited by the CDC found vaccinated hospitalized adults had a 26% lower risk of ICU admission and a 31% lower risk of death from influenza compared with unvaccinated patients.³
The goal is not only to reduce your chance of catching the flu. It is also to improve your chances of having a less serious illness if infection occurs.
Vaccination Protects More Than One Person
Getting vaccinated can also help protect the people around you.
Influenza spreads through communities, workplaces, schools and households. Some people who become infected may experience only mild symptoms, while others may face much greater risks.
Vaccination is particularly important for people who are more likely to experience serious complications, including certain older adults, young children, pregnant individuals and people living with some chronic medical conditions.
Protecting yourself can help reduce opportunities for influenza to spread to someone who may have a harder time recovering.
Why Do You Need a Flu Shot Every Year?
Unlike some vaccines that provide protection for many years, flu vaccination is recommended annually.
There are two major reasons.
First, influenza viruses change over time. Vaccine composition is reviewed and updated to better match the viruses expected to circulate during each flu season.⁴
Second, immune protection from vaccination decreases over time.
That is why the CDC recommends annual influenza vaccination for people 6 months of age and older, with rare exceptions.⁵
Getting vaccinated each season helps renew your protection against the viruses most likely to circulate that year.
Flu Vaccination Can Prevent More Than Illness
The benefits extend beyond avoiding a few sick days.
CDC estimates that during the 2024–2025 flu season, influenza vaccination prevented approximately⁶:
10 million flu illnesses
5 million flu-related medical visits
180,000 flu-related hospitalizations
12,000 flu-related deaths
Those numbers represent people who may have avoided illness altogether, avoided a trip to the provider or emergency room, or avoided a serious complication.
What About People With Chronic Conditions?
Preventing influenza can be especially important for people managing chronic health conditions.
Illness places additional stress on the body. Influenza can worsen existing medical problems and may increase the likelihood of complications among people with conditions such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes.
That is one reason flu vaccination is particularly important for people who have a higher risk of developing serious complications from influenza.
If you are unsure whether a particular flu vaccine is appropriate for you because of your health history, medications, allergies or previous vaccine reactions, talk with your healthcare provider.
Make Flu Prevention Part of Your Routine
Getting a flu vaccine is a small action that can have a meaningful impact.
It can reduce your chance of becoming sick, lower the risk of serious complications and help protect the people around you.
It also works best as part of a larger approach to staying healthy during flu season. Washing your hands, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding close contact when sick and seeking medical care when appropriate can all help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.
Most importantly, flu prevention does not need to begin after someone gets sick.
It can start before flu season is in full swing.
Ask your provider about getting your yearly flu vaccine and whether there are any specific recommendations based on your age and health history.
Your Health is here to help you stay ahead of flu season. Schedule an appointment to talk with your provider about flu vaccination and other ways to protect your health this season.