Emergency?Trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion, a seizure, or a child who is hard to wake: call 911 or go to an emergency department now.All warning signs
FluHubWeek ending Sep 26, 2026

Know your risk

Who is at higher risk from flu

For most people flu is a miserable week. For some it leads to pneumonia, hospitalization, or worsening of a heart or lung condition. If you or someone you care for is on this list, call a clinician as soon as flu symptoms start.

Clinical editor Parth Bhavsar, MDFollows CDC high-risk list, September 2024Sources checked October 5, 2026

Check what applies

Select any that apply to you or the person you are caring for. Nothing you select leaves this page.

Age
Pregnancy
Lung and heart
Other long-term conditions
Immune system
Other

List from CDC's "People at Increased Risk for Flu Complications."[1] Children younger than 5 are at higher risk than older children, and those under 2 most of all.[2]

Why these groups

Flu inflames the airways and stresses the heart, and it can tip a stable chronic condition into a crisis. In people over 65 and in young children, the immune response is weaker or less experienced. Pregnancy changes the heart, lungs, and immune system in ways that make severe flu more likely, both for the pregnant person and the baby.[1]

What being high-risk changes

  • Treatment: CDC recommends antivirals as soon as possible for anyone in these groups with suspected flu, without waiting for a test.[3]
  • Prevention: get vaccinated every year. People 65 and older should preferably get a high-dose, adjuvanted, or recombinant vaccine. See vaccines.
  • Household planning: if someone in your home is very high-risk, such as after a transplant, ask their clinician now about what to do if a family member gets flu.[4]

Sources

  1. CDC. People at Increased Risk for Flu Complications, updated September 11, 2024.
  2. CDC. Flu and Children, updated June 16, 2026.
  3. CDC. Influenza Antiviral Medications: Summary for Clinicians, updated March 10, 2026.
  4. Uyeki TM, et al. Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America: 2018 Update on Diagnosis, Treatment, Chemoprophylaxis, and Institutional Outbreak Management of Seasonal Influenza. Clin Infect Dis 2019;68(6):e1–e47, current IDSA guideline.