Public health recommendations say that anyone over the age of six months who can get a flu shot should do so.
Local public health officials are urging community members to get the seasonal influenza vaccine to protect themselves from the disease as cases rise across Boston and the country more broadly.
“Flu spreads easily during this time of the year when we gather together indoors,” Boston Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu said in a statement. “It is not too late to get vaccinated. Vaccination is the best tool we have to prevent serious illness.”
Public health recommendations say that anyone over the age of six months who can get a flu shot should do so. The disease can be particularly dangerous to those over the age of 65, those who are pregnant, young children and those with underlying chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
According to data from the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), the number of confirmed cases of the flu rose more than 400% in between November 30 and December 27. Emergency room visits for influenza-like illnesses — a catch-all term public health officials use to track flu trends and whose symptoms include a fever, cough or sore throat — rose more than 122% over the same time.
The city also reported a particularly rapid increase in the rate of infection among children. According to a Dec. 23 press release, there was an 83% increase in flu in children under the age of five and a 217% increase among those ages five to 17.
Data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health showed that Dorchester and Roxbury have been particularly hardhit: They’ve thus far tracked the highest number of influenza-like cases, with Dorchester also tracking the highest number of confirmed flu cases.
Boston city officials are particularly sounding the alarm because this year’s flu season seems to be peaking earlier than last season. In the week ending Dec. 27, 2025, the city reported 748 flu cases. In 2024, the city didn’t see similar numbers until late January.
Public health experts attribute the earlier spike to a new strain of the seasonal H3N2 influenza A virus, called subclade K. According to the World Health Organization, this flu subgroup has been rising steadily since August. Generally, H3N2 viruses tend to mean a difficult flu season, but experts have cautioned that it’s too soon to know how severe the current season will be.
There also hasn’t been evidence to suggest that this new variant evades the seasonal flu vaccine. While the flu shot may not be 100% effective against the chance of infection, those who do get the shot are more likely to experience milder symptoms and less likely to be hospitalized. It’s part of why public health officials are doubling down on their recommendations for vaccinations, since flu infections can also be fatal. Already this season, the CDC has reported an estimated 5,000 deaths from flu, nine of which were children.
But as of Dec. 23, BPHC reported that only 30% of Boston residents had received the seasonal flu vaccine. A BPHC spokesperson said that this time last year, slightly more — 32% — of Boston residents had received the flu vaccine, but that agency is not attributing the higher caseload to fewer vaccinations.
The trends in Massachusetts track with what public health officials have observed on the national level. Data from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the week ending Dec 27 showed that nearly 33% of all specimens tested for flu were positive, up from 25.6% of specimens tested the week before. The CDC also reported that as of December 23, 42% of adults and children had gotten a flu shot.
To help with the uptake of the vaccine, Boston has been hosting free clinics across the city since September; there have been 27 clinics across the city, providing shots to more than 2,500 individuals. BPHC has announced two more clinics for this coming week and plans to schedule more. Details will be provided on the city’s website.
The Boston Public Health Commission is offering free flu and COVID-19 vaccinations at the following city-run clinics:
- Saturday, Jan. 10, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Josephine A. Fiorentino Community Center, 123 Antwerp St, Brighton
- Wednesday, Jan. 14, 3 – 7 p.m. at BCYF Hyde Park Community Center, 1179 River St., Hyde Park
For more information, call the Mayor’s Health Line at 617-534-5050 or visit www.boston.gov/government/cabinets/boston-public-health-commission/free-vaccine-clinics-boston.
Residents can find more information about available vaccines at www.vaccinefinder.org.
