Influenza: How to prevent and treat a serious infection

While the COVID-19 pandemic is changing some seasonal rituals, the return of influenza or the flu isn’t one of them. The flu is more than a bad cold. Although many people who get the flu recover with rest and fluids, during most flu seasons thousands of Americans die from this illness and millions are sick enough to miss work or school. Influenza is serious — but it can be prevented and treated.

This flu season is complicated by worries about COVID-19. The same measures that help prevent the spread of the coronavirus — frequent and thorough handwashing, wearing a mask, not touching your face, coughing and sneezing into a tissue or your elbow, avoiding people who are sick, and staying away from others if you're sick — also help to protect against spread of the flu.