To protect yourself and your employees during the winter months, everyone ages 6 months and older should get their flu and updated COVID-19 shots, according to 2024-2025 influenza season guidance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
An individual can get these shots at the same time—whether in the same arm or opposite arm—and should be given before the end of October, says infectious disease expert William Schaffner, MD, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"Those of us in infectious diseases and public health take flu very seriously because we know that this nasty family of viruses can take a normal, healthy young person and put them in the emergency room in the hospital," Dr. Schaeffner told Healthline. "Every major hospital in the country sees this sort of thing happening every year. Yes, most flu in children is mild, and they get over it very easily. But on occasion, a normal, healthy child can be made morbidly, gravely ill."
Read more of Dr. Schaffner's interview with Healthline here. To learn how Vanderbilt Health Employer Solutions can help with vaccination and immunization services, fill out this form or email employersolutions@vumc.org.
