Metro Public Health Department encourages community to consider getting a flu shot this season

The weather has finally started to cool down, which means fall activities will be here before we know it. While pumpkin patches, football games and bonfires are often a staple of this time of the year, so are respiratory infections like the flu. The Metro Public Health Department is taking our role seriously this year, encouraging the community to get their flu shot this year. Flu shots are now available at MPHD's three preventive health clinics and will remain available throughout the upcoming flu season.

Influenza, or the flu, takes a toll on our health every year. Throughout the 2024-2025 flu season, the CDC reported more than 250 pediatric deaths due to the flu. That's the highest number of pediatric flu deaths since the 2009-2010 flu season, which was classified as a pandemic flu season by the CDC. We were not spared, as the Tennessee Department of Health reported six pediatric influenza-associated deaths during the 2024-2025 flu season.

According to the CDC, the estimated influenza disease burden was the highest the U.S. has seen in the last decade, with 770,000 hospitalizations throughout the flu season. If not for flu vaccines, that number could have been even higher. The CDC estimates that influenza vaccines prevented roughly 240,000 hospitalizations during the 2024-2025 season. Getting your flu shot is a great way to protect yourself against infection and the worst effects of the flu. While flu shots might not prevent all cases of the flu, they can greatly reduce the severity of your bout with the illness. The less severe your sickness, the less likely you will need to seek out emergency care or become hospitalized due to flu.

The CDC recently released its 2025-2026 respiratory infection outlook for the upcoming season. While the outlook cited several factors that are out of our control that could determine the severity of this year's respiratory infection season, getting your flu shot is one way you can actively participate in the efforts to reduce the burden right here in Nashville. The Metro Public Health Department offers flu shot appointments Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at our three preventive health clinics. MPHD recommends everyone six months and older consider getting their flu shot this year, whether through the Health Department, your primary care provider or your local pharmacy.