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Flu Prevention
Protect yourself and your family from respiratory illnesses like pandemic flu.
Getting the flu vaccine every year is the best way to prevent seasonal flu. Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) can also help people protect themselves and others from getting and spreading the flu. NPIs are especially important during outbreaks of pandemic flu.
A pandemic flu outbreak occurs when a new flu virus appears among people. Because it is a new virus, people have little or no immunity to it. This allows the virus to spread quickly from person to person around the world. It may take months before an effective vaccine is developed.
- What you can do personally ( Personal NPIs): Stay home when you are sick. Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Wash your hands often with soap and water.
- What communities can do ( Community NPIs): Implement social distancing interventions in schools, workplaces, and at events.
- What everyone can do to keep the environment germ-free ( Environmental NPIs) : Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects like door knobs.
- CDC provides educational resources and training on how to incorporate personal, community, and environmental NPIs into your pandemic flu plans.
The actions you take and plans you make today make a difference. Here are some important steps for protecting yourself and others from getting and spreading the flu at home:
Flu Prevention Tools and Resources At Home
Page last reviewed: August 26, 2019