Flu Season Campaign Opens: CDC Urges Everyone 6 Months and Older to Get Vaccinated by End of October
ATLANTA, Oct. 5 — The CDC's annual flu vaccination campaign is under way as the 2026-27 season approaches, according to the agency's public flu-season guidance: everyone 6 months and older should get this season's flu vaccine, ideally by the end of October, because flu activity typically begins to climb afterward and protection takes about two weeks to build.
Adults 65 and older, people with chronic conditions, pregnant women and children under 5 face the highest risk of severe flu, and vaccination is aimed at cutting hospitalizations and deaths. For those 65 and older, the CDC preferentially recommends three options: high-dose inactivated, adjuvanted, and recombinant vaccines. Most insurance plans, including Medicare Part B, cover the annual flu shot in full; the uninsured can check county health departments and pharmacy chains for low-cost or free clinics.
Campaign materials answer two common misconceptions: flu vaccines cannot cause flu (the shots are inactivated or recombinant products), and having had flu or a shot last year does not substitute for this year's dose, because circulating strains change and the formula is updated annually. GSM's Health channel followed on Oct. 9 from a surveillance angle; the two items use different material.
On access: chain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens and supermarket pharmacies generally offer walk-in flu shots, and county health department sites list community clinics. Bring an insurance card and any prior vaccination record; anyone with a history of severe allergy to eggs or vaccine components should tell the vaccinator in advance and remain for the observation period afterward.
Source: CDC flu-season public campaign guidance; GSM Health channel's Oct. 9 item covers the monitoring angle of the same season.
Photo: NRC Employee Flu Shots 2012 — NRCgov / CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: NRC Employee Flu Shots 2012 — NRCgov / CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse)
