With the coronavirus pandemic still a part of our daily lives, getting a flu shot is more important than ever. The flu vaccine will help keep you safe, protect your friends and loved ones and lessen the strain on our hospitals and health care workers. 

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued updated guidance on the importance of a flu shot, especially during the 2020-2021 season. According to the agency:

• CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Getting a flu vaccine during 2020-2021 will be more important than ever.
• Flu vaccines will not prevent COVID-19, but they will reduce the burden of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths on the health care system and conserve scarce medical resources for the care of people with COVID-19. (Read more about flu vaccine benefits.)
• CDC estimates that last season, fewer than half of Americans got a flu vaccine and at least 410,000 people were hospitalized from flu. Increased vaccination coverage would reduce that burden.
• Most flu vaccines protect against the four flu viruses that research suggests will be most common. (See Vaccine Virus Selection for this season’s vaccine composition.)
• Everyone 6 months of age and older should get annual flu vaccine by the end of October. Learn more about vaccine timing.
• Vaccination of high-risk persons is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness.
• People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with certain chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease and people 65 years and older. Many people at higher risk from flu also seem to be at higher risk from COVID-19.
• Vaccination also is important for health care workers, and other people who live with or care for people at higher risk to keep from spreading flu to them. This is especially true for people who work in long-term care facilities, which are home to many of the people most vulnerable to flu and COVID-19.
• Children younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu illness, but are too young to be vaccinated. People who care for infants should be vaccinated instead.

Use the tools below to find a flu vaccine location near you.