It’s that time of year when the leaves are turning golden, there’s a chill in the air and the threat of respiratory viruses like Covid-19, influenza or RSV looms across the country.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the 2025-26 fall and winter respiratory disease season to have a similar number of peak hospitalizations due to Covid-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus as there were last season.

But there are some steps you can take to reduce your risk of getting seriously ill with any of those circulating viruses this year – and vaccination plays a key role.

“One question or comment I get all the time from my own patients is, ‘Dr. Ren, I got the flu vaccine last year, or I got the Covid vaccine last year, but I still got Covid, or I still got the flu. What gives?’” said Dr. Mike Ren, an assistant professor of family and community medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine.

“What I tell them is, if I get the flu shot and someone with the flu sneezes on me and I’m in direct contact, I may still get sick, but it would be a much lighter version of illness,” he said. “Vaccines are not just disease prevention, but it’s to prevent you from getting a severe form of the disease that sends you to the hospital or worse. Flu every year and Covid every year still cause significant mortality in the country.”

The CDC estimates that about 1 million people were hospitalized with the flu last season, and there were up to 130,000 flu deaths, based on preliminary data from October 2024 through May 2025. Similar CDC estimates suggest that from October 2024 through September 2025, there have been almost 540,000 Covid-19 hospitalizations and up to 63,000 Covid-19 deaths.

Here’s what to know about getting this season’s Covid-19, flu and RSV vaccinations.

Covid-19

Who can get Covid shots?

The CDC says people 6 months and older - including pregnant people - should consult