Mission: To save lives and reduce hospitalizations by protecting children, families, and communities against influenza.
References

All content displayed on this website is selected independently. Editorial decisions are based on the availability of evidence-based data and content is never chosen based on financial contributions to the organization. The website provides links to external websites (considered third-party content), and displaying this third-party content does not imply endorsement. Families Fighting Flu relies on sources such as peer-reviewed journals, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization to inform the scientific, medical, and health information shared across the website. We regularly update this information to reflect the most up-to-date data available. For specific sources, please view the following list:

Flu Vaccination For People With Certain Health Conditions:
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Chronic Diseases. Available at www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People at High Risk For Flu Complications. Available at www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/index.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
3 American Diabetes Association. Statistics About Diabetes. Available at www.diabetes.org/resources/statistics/statistics-about-diabetes. Accessed April 9, 2020.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If You Have Diabetes, A Flu Shot Could Save Your Life. Available at  www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/pdfs/eng_brochure.pdf. Accessed April 9, 2020.
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If You Have Diabetes, A Flu Shot Could Save Your Life. Available at  www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/pdfs/eng_brochure.pdf. Accessed April 9, 2020.
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Living with Diabetes. Available at www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/problems.html. Accessed April 9, 2020.
7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If You Have Diabetes, A Flu Shot Could Save Your Life. Available at  www.cdc.gov/diabetes/projects/pdfs/eng_brochure.pdf. Accessed April 9, 2020.
8 Benjamin, E. J., Muntner, P., Alonso, A., Bittencourt, M. S., Callaway, C. W., Carson, A. P., Chamberlain, A. M., Chang, A. R., Cheng, S., Das, S. R., Delling, F. N., Djousse, L., Elkind, M. S. V., Ferguson, J. F., Fornage, M., Jordan, L. C., Khan, S. S., Kissela, B. M., Knutson, K. L., … On behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. (2019). Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2019 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 139(10). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000659
9 Warren-Gash C, Blackburn R, Whitaker H, McMenamin J, Hayward AC. Laboratory-confirmed respiratory infections as triggers for acute myocardial infarction and stroke: a self-controlled case series analysis of national linked datasets from Scotland. Eur Respir J. 2018;51. doi:10.1183/13993003.01794-2017.
10 Kwong, J. C., Schwartz, K. L., Campitelli, M. A., Chung, H., Crowcroft, N. S., Karnauchow, T., Katz, K., Ko, D. T., McGeer, A. J., McNally, D., Richardson, D. C., Rosella, L. C., Simor, A., Smieja, M., Zahariadis, G., & Gubbay, J. B. (2018). Acute Myocardial Infarction after Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Infection. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(4), 345–353. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1702090
11 Ruth Blackburn, Honxin Zhao, Richard Pebody, Andrew Hayward, Charlotte Warren-Gash, Laboratory-Confirmed Respiratory Infections as Predictors of Hospital Admission for Myocardial Infarction and Stroke: Time-Series Analysis of English Data for 2004–2015, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 67, Issue 1, 1 July 2018, Pages 8–17, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cix1144
12 Chow, E. J., Rolfes, M. A., O’Halloran, A., Anderson, E. J., Bennett, N. M., Billing, L., Chai, S., Dufort, E., Herlihy, R., Kim, S., Lynfield, R., McMullen, C., Monroe, M. L., Schaffner, W., Spencer, M., Talbot, H. K., Thomas, A., Yousey-Hindes, K., Reed, C., & Garg, S. (2020). Acute Cardiovascular Events Associated With Influenza in Hospitalized Adults. Annals of Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-1509
13 Kytömaa S, Hegde S, Claggett B, et al. Association of Influenza-like Illness Activity With Hospitalizations for Heart FailureThe Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities StudyJAMA Cardiol. 2019;4(4):363–369. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2019.0549
14 American Lung Association. Learn About COPD. Available at
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/learn-about-copd/how-serious-is-copd.html. Accessed April 9, 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most Recent National Asthma Data. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_national_asthma_data.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
15 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu and People with Asthma. Available at www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/asthma.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
16 Colquhoun, A. J., Nicholson, K. G., Botha, J. L., & Raymond, N. T. (1997). Effectiveness of influenza vaccine in reducing hospital admissions in people with diabetes. Epidemiology and Infection, 119(3), 335–341.
17
Mulpuru S, Ye L, Hatchette T, et al. Effectiveness of influenza vaccination on hospitalizations and risk factors for severe outcomes in hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Source: CHEST. 2019;155(1):69-78. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.10.044.
18 MacIntyre, C. R., Mahimbo, A., Moa, A. M., & Barnes, M. (2016). Influenza vaccine as a coronary intervention for prevention of myocardial infarction. Heart, 102(24), 1953–1956. https://doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2016-309983

Flu Vaccination For Seniors:
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Who Needs a Flu Vaccine and When. Available at www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccinations.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
2 Kostova D, Reed C, Finelli L, Cheng PY, Gargiullo PM, et al. (2013) Influenza Illness and Hospitalizations Averted by Influenza Vaccination in the United States, 2005–2011. PLOS ONE 8(6): e66312. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066312
3 Web MD. Flu Can Have Dangerous Domino Effect on Seniors. Available at www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20171203/flu-can-have-dangerous-domino-effect-on-seniors. Accessed April 9, 2020.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People 65 Years and Older & Influenza. Available at www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/65over.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020
5 Rondy M, El Omeiri N, Thompson MG, Levêque A, Moren A, Sullivan SG. Effectiveness of influenza vaccines in preventing severe influenza illness among adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of test-negative design case-control studies. J Infect. 2017;75(5):381–394. doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2017.09.010
Thompson, M. G., Pierse, N., Sue Huang, Q., Prasad, N., Duque, J., Claire Newbern, E., Baker, M. G., Turner, N., & McArthur, C. (2018). Influenza vaccine effectiveness in preventing influenza-associated intensive care admissions and attenuating severe disease among adults in New Zealand 2012–2015. Vaccine, 36(39), 5916–5925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.07.028

Flu Vaccination For Children:
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children & Influenza (Flu). Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm. Accessed September 11, 2020. 
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Guidance for School Administrators to Help Reduce the Spread of Seasonal Influenza in K-12 Schools. Available at www.cdc.gov/flu/school/guidance.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
3 Neuzil KM, Hohlbein C, Zhu Y. Illness Among Schoolchildren During Influenza Season: Effect on School Absenteeism, Parental Absenteeism From Work, and Secondary Illness in Families. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(10):986–991. doi:10.1001/archpedi.156.10.986
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Current Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, 1996, p. 75 Table 48. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/data-questionnaires-documentation.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children & Influenza (Flu). Available at www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020. 
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality. Available at gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluview/PedFluDeath.html. Accessed April 9, 2020. 

Flu Vaccination for Pregnant Women:
1 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Influenza Vaccination During Pregnancy. Available at https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2018/04/influenza-vaccination-during-pregnancy. Accessed April 9, 2020.
2 Nordin, J. D., Kharbanda, E. O., Vazquez Benitez, G., Lipkind, H., Vellozzi, C., & DeStefano, F. (2014). Maternal Influenza Vaccine and Risks for Preterm or Small for Gestational Age Birth. The Journal of Pediatrics, 164(5), 1051-1057.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2014.01.037
3 Moro, P., Baumblatt, J., Lewis, P. et al. Surveillance of Adverse Events After Seasonal Influenza Vaccination in Pregnant Women and Their Infants in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, July 2010–May 2016. Drug Saf 40, 145–152 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40264-016-0482-1
4 Mark G Thompson, Jeffrey C Kwong, Annette K Regan, Mark A Katz, Steven J Drews, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Nicola P Klein, Hannah Chung, Paul V Effler, Becca S Feldman, Kimberley Simmonds, Brandy E Wyant, Fatimah S Dawood, Michael L Jackson, Deshayne B Fell, Avram Levy, Noam Barda, Lawrence W Svenson, Rebecca V Fink, Sarah W Ball, Allison Naleway, Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Influenza-associated Hospitalizations During Pregnancy: A Multi-country Retrospective Test Negative Design Study, 2010–2016, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 68, Issue 9, 1 May 2019, Pages 1444–1453, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciy737
5 Tapia MD, Sow SO, Tamboura B, et al. Maternal immunisation with trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine for prevention of influenza in infants in Mali: a prospective, active-controlled, observer-blind, randomised phase 4 trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2016;16(9):1026–1035. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30054-8.

Flu Vaccination for Adolescents:
1 Neuzil KM, Hohlbein C, Zhu Y. Illness Among Schoolchildren During Influenza Season: Effect on School Absenteeism, Parental Absenteeism From Work, and Secondary Illness in Families. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(10):986–991. doi:10.1001/archpedi.156.10.986
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Past Flu Seasons. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/past-flu-seasons.htm. Accessed April 13, 2020.
3 Shang, M., Blanton, L., Brammer, L., Olsen, S. J., & Fry, A. M. (2018). Influenza-Associated Pediatric Deaths in the United States, 2010–2016. Pediatrics, 141(4), e20172918. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-2918

Facts on Flu Vaccines:
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine Effectiveness: How Well Do the Flu Vaccines Work? Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/vaccineeffect.htm. Accessed April 21, 2020.
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu Vaccine Safety Information. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/general.htm. Accessed April 21, 2020.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm. Accessed April 21, 2020.

Stay In The Game:
1 Neuzil KM, Hohlbein C, Zhu Y. Illness Among Schoolchildren During Influenza Season: Effect on School Absenteeism, Parental Absenteeism From Work, and Secondary Illness in Families. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156(10):986–991. doi:10.1001/archpedi.156.10.986
2 Walgreens. Walgreens Flu Impact Report. Available at https://news.walgreens.com/press-releases/general-news/more-than-3-million-vacations-interrupted-by-flu-in-the-family-last-season-walgreens-flu-impact-report-suggests.htm. Accessed April 21, 2020.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children & Influenza (Flu). Available at www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm. Accessed April 9, 2020.
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Disease Burden of Influenza. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2020.
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality. Available at gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluview/PedFluDeath.html. Accessed April 9, 2020.
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu Costs The U.S. More Than $87 Billion Annually. Available at https://www.cdcfoundation.org/pr/flu-costs-United-States-87-billion-annually. Accessed January 28, 2020.

What is Flu?:
1 Jerome I Tokars, Sonja J Olsen, Carrie Reed, Seasonal Incidence of Symptomatic Influenza in the United States, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 66, Issue 10, 15 May 2018, Pages 1511–1518, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cix1060
2 Chow EJ, Rolfes MA, O’Halloran A, et al. Respiratory and Nonrespiratory Diagnoses Associated With Influenza in Hospitalized Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e201323. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.1323
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Clinical Signs and Symptoms of Influenza. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/clinical.htm. Accessed April 21, 2020.

Flu and Sepsis:
1 Chow EJ, Rolfes MA, O’Halloran A, et al. Respiratory and Nonrespiratory Diagnoses Associated With Influenza in Hospitalized Adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):e201323. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.132
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data & Reports. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/datareports/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2020.
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data & Reports. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/datareports/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2020.

2 Protects 2:
1 Lindley MC, Kahn KE, Bardenheier BH, et al. Vital Signs: Burden and Prevention of Influenza and Pertussis Among Pregnant Women and Infants – United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019; 68:885-892. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6840e1.
2 Lindley MC, Kahn KE, Bardenheier BH, et al. Vital Signs: Burden and Prevention of Influenza and Pertussis Among Pregnant Women and Infants – United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019; 68:885-892. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6840e1.
3 Lindley MC, Kahn KE, Bardenheier BH, et al. Vital Signs: Burden and Prevention of Influenza and Pertussis Among Pregnant Women and Infants – United States. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2019; 68:885-892. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6840e1.

 

Page last reviewed: May 2020. 

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