Flu Shot & Chronic Illness

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This web site addresses seasonal influenza

For more information regarding 2009 H1N1 flu, please visit: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Chronic Illness

Don’t Let Influenza Complicate Your Illness

Influenza can make existing medical conditions much worse. If you have a chronic medical condition such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, or heart disease, influenza can cause serious complications—and sometimes even death.

Getting a flu shot every year can lower those risks. An analysis by the American Lung Association found that if 100% of people with asthma received the influenza vaccine, up to 136,000 hospitalizations could be prevented each year.

If you or someone you know has one of the following conditions, influenza vaccination is especially important because you are at highest risk for developing complications associated with influenza:^1,2

Asthma
COPD
Heart disease
Lung disease
Kidney disease
Metabolic diseases, such as diabetes
Anemia and other blood disorders
Weakened immune system

It also is important for caregivers and household contacts for the chronically ill to get the flu shot every year.¹ These include parents, grandparents, siblings, babysitters, and day care providers.

Did you know?

Portrait Gallery

Dean Cain

Actor, Father, and Asthmatic

Actor Dean Cain has asthma. While he may have been a great football player and appeared as Superman on the popular television series "Lois and Clark," he knows he's no real-life superhero. He fears getting the flu.
Brett Colavolpe

College Student Living with Type 1 Diabetes

Brett Colavolpe, who has type 1 diabetes, makes annual influenza immunization a priority because he knows those with high-risk conditions, such as diabetes, can be even more severely affected by this often devastating disease.¹⁰
Cindy Marek

Cancer Survivor

Cindy Marek can happily say she has beaten cancer and passed her 5-year mark without recurrence. Influenza vaccination is recommended for people with cancer, like Cindy, whose immune systems are weakened by the disease or by cancer treatment.¹
Brandon Williams and Dmitri Aston

Brothers Living with Asthma

Brandon and Dmitri have asthma. Their mother Lakisha knows the flu can worsen symptoms of asthma like wheezing, and make breathing even more difficult.^14-16 That's why she makes sure her family is vaccinated each and every year.
Sue Rahr

Sheriff and Mother

Sheriff Sue Rahr's niece Elaine has cystic fibrosis. Given her niece's condition, increasing community awareness about the dangers of the flu and the need for immunization is an easy decision for Sue to make.
Ray and Stella Ross

Husband with COPD and His Wife, Household Contact

Ray Ross is over 75 years of age and has emphysema, a progressive chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As a result of his emphysema, Ray is at increased risk of developing complications from the flu.¹
Mario Linares

Older Adult Living with Type 2 Diabetes

Mario Linares is over 60 years of age and has type 2 diabetes; a chronic medical condition that increases his risk for many serious complications, such as heart disease, blindness, nerve damage, and kidney damage.
Daina Maxwell and Dez'Arae Harrison

Mother and Her Daughter With Asthma, Who Was Hospitalized for Influenza-related Complications

“I never knew how serious influenza was until Dez'Arae got it,” Daina Maxwell said. “I am so lucky to still have her here, and I am not willing to take any more chances.”
Megan and Brandon Pienta

Sister with Severe Asthma and Her Brother, Household Contact

With a family of 6 children, the Pienta household can sometimes feel like a whirlwind of activities. But parents John and Jody always ensure annual vaccination against influenza, a potentially deadly disease, stays on top of their family's to-do list.
Pari Miller

Mother of Grace, Who Lives With a Rare Genetic Disorder Making Her Susceptible to Respiratory Infections

A mother of three, she understands the importance of vaccinating her family against influenza every year. Her youngest daughter Grace was born with a rare genetic disorder that makes her more susceptible to respiratory infections.
David and Leia Schwartz

Father and Daughter Living with Asthma

David Schwartz and his daughter Leia both have asthma and understand how devastating influenza can be for those who fall into one of the high-risk groups. "Just the thought of getting influenza scares my family because we know how devastating it can be for Leia, who has asthma," said David.
Rebecca and Nicolaas Wooters

Mother and her Son with Asthma

Rebecca Wooters doesn't take chances when it comes to influenza and takes protecting her family's well-being seriously. To help protect Nicolaas and the rest of her household each year, she makes vaccination a "family affair" and ensures all of her loves ones get their flu shot.
Dody and Earl Kinsella

Wife Living with Heart Condition and Her Husband, Household Contact

Each year, for more than 20 years, Dody and Earl Kinsella have faithfully received their flu shots. As older Americans, they know they are at a higher risk for complications from this serious virus.¹