CMS: This Year, It’s More Important than Ever to Get the Flu Shot

Now more than ever, everyone needs to do their part to prevent the spread of illnesses like the flu. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people are getting vaccines which puts their communities at greater risk for other preventable diseases.  When people get the flu shot, it helps protect them and keep them from spreading the flu to others.

Medicare and most health plans cover the cost of the flu shot, which is available at most health care provider offices, local pharmacies, senior centers, health centers, and other places in the community.

This year, we’re developing many new flu vaccination resources for people with Medicare, partners, providers, and others who can share our message.  Please use our resources to encourage your patients and partners to get their flu shot so they and their communities can stay healthy.

Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected when it comes to receiving recommended vaccines. Many factors can contribute to lower vaccination rates, including concerns about vaccine safety and limited access to care and health coverage. The CMS Office of Minority Health created a website of Federal resources to help our partners find resources for minority populations and in additional languages.

Visit go.cms.gov/omhflu.

CMS.gov Partner and Provider Resources

  • Visit cms.gov/flu for a one-stop shop to help you find CMS’s flu vaccination information and resources.
  • Find vaccination resources for racial and ethnic minority patients, as well as resources for providers and partners that serve these populations at cms.gov/omhflu.
  • Looking for additional languages? Find Medicare postcards in 18 languages.
  • Visit our Outreach & Media Materials page for flu vaccination materials you can share within your partner networks and use to reach people with Medicare, plus other audiences across our health care programs. We will continue to update this page with additional resources.
  • Use this social media toolkit with posts and graphics to spread the word about the importance of getting a flu shot this year (in English & Spanish).
  • For partners, we launched a Flu Vaccine Partner Toolkit with flu and other immunization resources.
  • For health care providers, we launched a new website, cms.gov/flu-provider, with flu coverage and billing information.

Medicare.gov Consumer Resources

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