Mission: To save lives and reduce hospitalizations by protecting children, families, and communities against influenza.
Insights on Influenza
  • Flu News & Surveillance
  • Advocacy
  • Flu Prevention

Resolve to Keep Your Family Healthy with a Flu Shot

Resolve to keep your family healthy in 2024 with a flu shot.
Posted on January 3, 2024
Share this article:

Now that the holiday festivities are over it might seem like everyone around you is sick. You’re not imagining things. Peak flu season is here, and, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu positives, outpatient respiratory illness, and flu hospitalizations are all up, too. Whether you’ve entered the new year healthy or with a lingering cold that just won’t quit, consider making this the year you resolve to keep your family healthy with a flu shot

At Families Fighting Flu, our mission is to educate families about the seriousness of influenza and the vital importance of annual vaccination. Below, we explore some of the reasons why you should still consider getting your flu shot this season.

Seasonal Influenza Activity Remains Elevated

The CDC estimates that as of Jan. 2, 2024, there have been at least 7.1 million illnesses, 73,000 hospitalizations, and 4,500 deaths from flu so far this 2023-24 flu season. One death is too many, but our goal at Families Fighting Flu is to reduce the number of flu deaths and hospitalizations through education, particularly about the effectiveness of flu shots in preventing severe complications and tragedies.

Across the country, seasonal influenza activity is elevated and continues to increase in most states. Flu activity remains particularly high throughout the South, especially Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, as well as in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and the Southwest so if you haven’t already received a flu shot this season know that there are still plenty of chances to ensure your family is protected for the remainder of the season. You can easily find a site to receive a flu vaccine for you and your family members at Vaccines.gov.

It’s Not Too Late for the 2023-24 Flu Vaccine

While it is often recommended that you get your flu shot in the fall so that it can be fully effective before the holiday gathering season, the best time to get your flu shot this season is whenever you can get it! As long as influenza viruses are circling, there is an increased chance of catching the flu and passing it onto loved ones so it’s better to get vaccinated when you can than to go without because you think it’s too late in the flu season. Even now, there is still time for the vaccine to be beneficial and provide protection.

It’s Not Just About You

You know that getting a flu vaccine can keep you from getting sick with the flu, reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalizations, and make your illness milder if you do get sick, but when it comes to keeping your family healthy one of the most impactful benefits is what getting vaccinated can do for those around you!

Choosing to get your seasonal flu shot can:

  • Help protect children, adults 65 years and older, and people with chronic health conditions like diabetes and heart and lung disease that make them at higher risk of developing severe side effects. Whether you’ve got a small child at home or make regular visits to an elderly family member, influenza vaccines provide an additional layer of protection to keep them safe and healthy from flu illness
  • Help protect both pregnant women and their babies for several months after birth from the flu. Studies show that babies born to mothers who’ve received a flu vaccine during pregnancy are 70 percent less likely to suffer with the flu and 81 percent less likely to be hospitalized for flu. Since infants can’t receive a flu vaccine until they are six months of age, the CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine in pregnancy as the best way to pass on protection to your newborn.

Our families share their stories to protect children, families, and communities from the potentially devastating effects of influenza in hopes that other families don’t have to suffer. Read the story of Marques Jackson, who died from flu before he was old enough to receive a flu vaccine.

Learn More About Families Fighting Flu

Founded in 2004, Families Fighting Flu (FFF) is a national, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) advocacy organization dedicated to protecting children, families, and communities against the flu through education about the seriousness of influenza. Our organization includes families whose loved ones have suffered serious medical complications or died from influenza, as well as other advocates and healthcare professionals committed to flu education and prevention.

In honor of our loved ones, we work to increase awareness about the seriousness of the disease and to reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by the flu each year by increasing vaccination rates for everyone six months and older.  Learn more about our mission and resources here so that you can empower your family to stay healthy this flu season.

You might also be interested in...

Dispelling Common Flu Myths: Debunking Misconceptions About the Influenza Vaccine
Become a Flu Champion Today
How Getting Vaccinated Protects Your Child During Pregnancy
Stay Informed
Sign up for our Weekly Flu News and quarterly newsletter, Fighting Influenza, to stay up-to-date on the latest flu news.
Newsletter

LOGO LICENSE AGREEMENT

You are required to accept all of the terms and conditions in this License Agreement in order to receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable, royalty-free license to use the FAMILIES FIGHTING FLU, INC. logo, displayed below (the “FFF Logo”), from Families Fighting Flu, Inc. (“FFF”). In order to accept these terms and conditions, you must click the “I Accept” button below.

  1. FFF hereby grants to you, and you accept, a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable, royalty-free license to use the FFF Logo, which you may download and use solely in online and print earned media publications for a period of no more than six (6) months in the United States.
  2. You acknowledge that the FFF Logo is a valid trademark; that FFF is the sole owner of the FFF Logo; and that FFF retains all right, title, and interest in and to the FFF Logo. You agree that any and all use that you make of the FFF Logo, and any and all goodwill arising from your use of the FFF Logo, shall inure exclusively to the benefit of FFF.  You also agree that you shall not challenge the validity of the FFF Logo or FFF’s ownership or title thereto during the term of the License Agreement or thereafter.
  3. You agree that you shall use the FFF Logo only in the form shown above, and that you shall not alter, modify, change, or edit the FFF Logo in any manner.
  4. You acknowledge the valuable goodwill and reputation in the FFF Logo, and that it is essential that the high standards and reputation associated with the FFF Logo be maintained. You therefore agree to use the FFF Logo consistent with the highest standards of quality so as to protect and maintain the FFF Logo and FFF’s rights therein.
  5. FFF shall have the right to review and inspect your use of the FFF Logo at any time. FFF, in its sole discretion, may determine that you are not using the FFF Logo in an acceptable manner and require that you discontinue your use of the FFF Logo.  To the extent that FFF requires that you discontinue your use of the FFF Logo, you agree that you shall remove the FFF Logo from all online and print earned media publications as soon as practicable under the circumstances, and that you shall not use the FFF at any time in the future.
  6. You must include the following notice in connection with any use of the FFF Logo: “The Families Fighting Flu, Inc. logo is the registered trademark of Families Fighting Flu, Inc.”
I Accept