Podcasts
Preparing for Fall: Back to School and 2020-2021 Influenza Seasonexternal icon
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at CDC disscusses the importance of everyone 6 months and older getting vaccinated against flu to reduce the overall burden of respiratory illness, protect vulnerable populations, and decrease burden on the healthcare system this season. Flu vaccination is escpecially important for the 2020-2021 flu season, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.
The Importance of Flu Vaccine for Children
This podcast highlights the importance of all children – including those with special health care needs – receiving flu vaccinations. Children 5 years old and younger, especially those who are younger than 2, are at high risk of developing serious complications if they become sick with flu. Some of these complications include pneumonia, dehydration, worsening of medical problems such as heart disease, asthma, sinus problems, or ear infections.
This podcast belongs to the CDC Featured Podcasts series.
Get Your Flu Vaccine [4 MB, 4 min 16 sec]
Flu season is here and it’s time for most of us to get vaccinated. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people in the US get influenza and several thousand die from the disease. In this podcast, Dr. Erin Kennedy discusses the importance of getting an annual flu vaccine.
