Everyone is at risk for seasonal influenza. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone six months and older get a flu vaccine.
While flu can make anyone sick, certain people have a higher risk of developing serious flu complications:
- Pregnant women
- Children younger than 5 years, but especially children younger than 2 years old
- People 65 years of age and older
- People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
It’s also important that people who live with or care for those at high risk of serious flu complications get vaccinated, including:
- Health care workers
- Parents, family and friends around children younger than 6 months of age who are too young to be vaccinated
- People caring for their elderly parents, or other elderly adults
See the CDC’s full list of people who are at high risk of serious flu complications.