Fight Flu Tennessee

Getting a Flu Shot is Safe and Simple

• Nationally, 7.5 million illnesses, 105,000 hospitalizations, and 6,300 deaths could be prevented annually if more people choose to get a flu vaccine. 
• Those who have chronic medical onditions, pregnant women, and young children are all at risk of severe complications if they get the flu.

Flu Shots Save Lives

• The flu vaccine is safe and effective and can protect against the most common types of flu, and the virus’s worst symptoms and outcomes.
• All Tennesseans six-months old, and older, can get a flu shot every year.
• Getting a flu shot is simple and the most important thing you can do to help prevent the flu.
• Protect your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers from the flu by getting vaccinated.
• Encourage others to get vaccinated against the flu as well.

Stay Home if You Are Sick

• Stay away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren't explainable by another cause. 
• Symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others.
  
• You can return to your normal activities when your symptoms are improving and you have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication.
• When you go back to your normal activities, take additional precautions over the next 5 days when you will be around other people indoors.
• Additional prevention strategies include masking, distancing, and testing. 

Practice Good Hygiene

• Learn and use proper handwashing techniques.
  • Wet hands with clean, running water
  • Apply soap
  • Make a lather and scrub well, include back of hands, between fingers, and under fingernails
  • Rub hands for a lest 20 seconds
  • Rinse hand thoroughly
  • Dry hands using a clean paper towel, or air-dry    
• Clean surfaces frequently with soap or detergent to remove germs and dirt.
• Cover coughs and sneezes to limit the spread of germs and protect others.
• Other, less studied hygiene practices, such as nasal rinsing, may be beneficial. If you are considering nasal rinsing, follow CDC recommendations.
  • Use boiled, distilled, or sterile water to prevent a rare infection from Naegleria fowleri. 
  • If tap water is the only option, be sure to boil the water for 1-to-3 minutes and let the water stop boiling and cool before using as a rinse for sinuses or nasal passages. 
  • Talk with your provider about whether nasal rinsing is a good, safe hygiene practice for you.

Help with the Fight Flu 2026 Effort

• On [DATE] Tennessee’s health departments will provide free flu at more than 100 locations across the state.
• Find the site closest to you and its hours of operation using the map at tn.gov/health/fightflu. Select the Find a Flu Shot Near You icon.
• Encourage others to choose personal preparedness and watch for updates using #FightFlu26 on social media.

Tennessee Prepares

• Fight Flu 2026 is an annual event that shows your public health and medical response systems at work.
•  Fight Flu 2026 is a statewide preparedness and response exercise to help local health departments practice emergency plans to vaccinate our communities during a pandemic.
• Preparedness for pandemics is critical and we use large-scale exercises, like Fight Flu 2026, to make sure local health department teams are ready to respond.