This season’s flu and COVID shots helped prevent serious illness

The U.S. is almost but not quite out of flu season, meaning it’s not too late to get a vaccine. Early evidence from four vaccine effectiveness networks has shown that this year’s flu and COVID vaccines were effective at reducing the severity of illness. Those who got the 2024-2025 season flu and COVID shots were less likely to need to go to the doctor and less likely to be hospitalized than those who did not get the shots. 

U-M’s School of Public Health and Michigan Medicine partner with other national collaborators and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to analyze disease-monitoring data at the mid-point and conclusion of the respiratory illness season. 

In this video, Adam Lauring, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Infectious Disease at U-M Medical School, sat down with Health Lab to discuss the recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on the findings.