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Flu Vaccination Information

Immunization Schedule and Registration

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Flu FAQS

Frequently Asked Question​

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Community resources for the flu vaccine

Information on Influenza

Influenza, pandemic influenza, etc

Injecting Truth into Flu Vaccine Misconceptions​

Learn more​ about the misconceptions

Flu FAQs

​​​​Foil the Flu FAQs
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​All NIH employees and contractors with a valid, NIH-issued ID are eligible to receive their flu shot through Foil the Flu program free of charge.​​​

There are some people who should not be immunized without first consulting a medical provider. These include:

  • People who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccination
  • People who developed Guillain-Barre syndrome within 6 weeks of getting an influenza vaccine
  • People who have a moderate-to-severe illness with a fever (they should wait until they recover to be immunized)
  • People with symptoms of influenza and/or COVID-19
  • People who tested positive for COVID-19 and are still within their isolation period.​​

If you are experiencing cold symptoms, please reschedule your appointment after your symptoms have resolved.  If you have COVID-19, please reschedule once you are no longer moderately or severely ill and have completed your isolation period. Symptoms to suggest a new illness may include unusual fatigue, fever, cough, change or loss of taste or smell, sore throat, muscle/body aches, congestion/runny nose, shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, or headaches.​

Yes. Pregnant women may receive any recommended licensed, age-appropriate influenza vaccine*. The CDC recommends that pregnant people in any trimester or those who might become pregnant during the flu season be vaccinated to protect both the pregnant parent and the baby from flu. *Note, pregnant women should not receive the Flumist intranasal live, attenuated flu vaccine because it is a live vaccine. This option is not being offered through the “Foil the Flu Program”.​

Talk with your obstetrician first if you have any questions or concerns. For more information: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/pregnant.htm.​

The decision to get the flu vaccine has many downstream impacts. It not only protects you from flu, it protects your patients, your coworkers, and your family. Since NIH has many patients, employees, and contractors who have immunocompromising conditions, it is critically important that the risk of transmission of flu is minimized in the Clinical Center. Vaccination is the most effective way to do that.​

The Medical Executive Committee approved a policy in 2008 that requires all NIH workers with patient contact to be immunized against influenza or formally decline. Staff with face-to-face patient contact must receive the seasonal influenza vaccine annually unless they provide OMS with documentation of a medical contraindication from a non-NIH healthcare provider or a written religious exemption.​ Please visit the Clinical Center Hospital Epidemiology website for more information.​

Last year’s new recommendation for people with egg allergy continues to be recommended this year; people with egg allergy may receive any vaccine (egg-based or non-egg-based) that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health status. No extra monitoring is recommended beyond that recommended for all vaccines in all patients. The only time a patient with an egg allergy should not receive an egg-based vaccine is if they have had a previous severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any influenza vaccine product. Additional information is available for those with a severe allergy to eggs on the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/egg-allergies.htm)​.​

Employees intending to receive a flu vaccine must wear clothing that does not restrict access to the upper arm. Changing areas will not be available. Please follow masking guidelines at your clinic site. Masks will be available.

Upon arrival, you will be greeted by a flu clinic coordinator and directed to the appointment check-in desk. The vaccine information sheet (VIS) will be available to review while you wait. Next, you will be directed to a booth where you may be seated and a nurse will scan your badge, ask you a series of questions and then administer the vaccine. You must exit the flu clinic according to posted signage. If you feel ill you may not attend the clinic. If you have signs of a febrile or respiratory illness you may be asked to leave without receiving a flu shot and reschedule your appointment.​

​Following immunization, your FollowMyHealth® portal account will be updated with proof of vaccination. If you do not have a FollowMyHealth® account, please call the Portal Support line at 855-644-6445 or email NIHCCPatientPortal@mail.nih.gov to gain access.​

You should receive an email the day following your flu vaccination from Follow My Health. It will include a link to your new record in Follow My Health. Your email would have been sent to the mailbox you entered during registration for the flu vaccine, from the sender, FollowMyHealth <noreply@followmyhealth.com>. If you do not find the email, please login to Follow My Health at www.cc.nih.gov/followmyhealth/ and login or register using the email you used to sign up for your flu vaccine. If you have questions, please reach out to the Follow My Health team at 1-855-644-6445 or NIHCCPatientportal@mail.nih.gov.​

This year, the NIH main campus will offer vaccines in Building 10, CRC 7th Floor Atrium, East Side.

​In addition, flu clinics will be offered at various off-campus and satellite campus locations. See schedule here​​.

​No. The vaccine will be given by appointment only. There will be no walk-ins.​​​​

Please visit the Foil the Flu registration site: https://clinweb.cc.nih.gov/cct and log in using your PIV card. Employees must be on the NIH network. Google Chrome is the preferred browser on both Windows and MacOS. Firefox and Safari are also supported. Internet Explorer is not supported.

If you are not able to access the registration website, please contact OMS at (301) 496-4411 or by email at OMSfluclinic@mail.nih.gov.​​

For those who work outside of regular business hours, there are appointments offered during an extended week day, from 6:00am to 7:00pm, on Thursday, October 10​​. The vaccine will be given by appointment only. Visit the registration site early to secure an appointment that fits your schedule.​

​Local health departments, grocery stores, pharmacies and urgent care clinics often provide flu immunization programs. See the Foil the Flu Community Resources Area for more information.

​A flu vaccine is needed every year because influenza viruses are constantly changing. The vaccine is adjusted each year to keep up with the influenza viruses as they change.

In addition, multiple studies conducted over different seasons and across vaccine types and influenza virus subtypes have shown that the body’s immunity to influenza viruses (acquired either through natural infection or immunization) declines over time.

Being immunized each year provides the best protection against influenza throughout influenza season.​

​The composition of U.S. flu vaccines is reviewed annually and updated as needed to match circulating influenza viruses. Flu vaccines protect against viruses that research suggests will be most common.

New this year, all seasonal flu vaccines available in the Northern Hemisphere for the 2024-2025 season are trivalent instead of quadrivalent as in previous years; Southern Hemisphere vaccine formulations may still be quadrivalent this year.

The composition of the 2024-2025 U.S. influenza vaccines includes updates to the influenza A(H3N2) -like viral component. These vaccines also include 2 strains unchanged from previous years: influenza A(H1N1) (specific strain lineage varies according to egg-based or cell culture-based vaccines but is unchanged from the previous year's vaccine strains) and influenza B/Victoria lineage-like viral components. The influenza B/Yamagata lineage-like component was removed this year, because this strain has not circulated in the U.S. since March 2020. Protection with the trivalent vaccines this year is expected to be similar as prior years’ protection with the quadrivalent vaccines. High-dose vaccines contain 3 to 4 times the amount of viral antigen in each dose compared with standard-dose inactivated influenza vaccines.​

​While the vaccine cannot prevent you from acquiring other strains of influenza, antibodies made in response to the immunization may provide some cross protection against other influenza viruses to lessen the severity of illness.​

​No. It takes about two weeks after immunization for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. In the meantime, you are still at risk for getting influenza infection. That is why it is better to be immunized early in the fall, before the flu season really gets under way.​

All vaccines used in this year's influenza immunization campaign are trivalent. For the specific composition of the NIH vaccines offered this year, please refer to the prescribing information on the intranet (http://intranet.cc.nih.gov/hospitalepidemiology​/flu.html).​​​

  1. Flucelvax® is an inactivated cell culture-based vaccine licensed for use in patients 6 months of age and older. It is egg-free, preservative-free, and latex-free, but does contain polysorbate. Most patients will receive this vaccine unless they have had a previous severe allergic reaction (eg, anaphylaxis) to this vaccine or any of its components.
  2. Fluzone® High-Dose is an inactivated vaccine licensed for use in patients 65 years and older and is manufactured in eggs. It is preservative-free, latex-free, and does not contain polysorbates. Most patients 65 years and older will receive this vaccine unless they have had a previous severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any of the components of this vaccine or any egg-based influenza vaccine. Adult patients 18 to 64 years with a history of receiving a solid organ transplant and who are receiving immunosuppressive medications may also choose to get Fluzone® High-Dose instead of Flucelvax®; both are recommended equally this year for these patients.

​Yes. Please notify the nurse that you would like to receive the high-dose vaccine.

No. FluMist intranasal live, attenuated flu vaccine (LAIV) is not offered at NIH. Employees who receive LAIV elsewhere and provide documentation are considered compliant with any requirement to be immunized against influenza (e.g., healthcare personnel or influenza researchers), but are not permitted to have contact with Clinical Center patients for 7 days after receipt because of the theoretical risk of transmitting the vaccine strain to immunocompromised patients. The CDC discourages the use of LAIV by people who care for immunocompromised individuals.​

No. The vaccines used in this year's influenza immunization campaign do not contain thimerosal or any other preservatives. Some influenza vaccines available in the community may contain thimerosal, but most vaccines administered to patients this year will be thimerosal-free or thimerosal-reduced. Even so, there is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal seen in vaccines available today, except for minor reactions like redness or swelling at the site of vaccination.​

Getting your flu vaccine does not protect you from COVID-19 or increase your risk of getting COVID-19. Getting your flu vaccine will reduce the risk of becoming ill and being hospitalized from influenza. Getting a flu vaccine can prevent severe disease.​

This winter, SARS-CoV-2 will likely continue to circulate along with seasonal flu and other respiratory viruses. It may be difficult to tell the cause of illness solely based on symptoms because people with influenza and COVID-19 may have very similar symptoms such as fever, body aches, cough, congestion, runny nose and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. Flu and COVID-19 can be mild in some people or severe in others; both may result in pneumonia. Testing is the best way to distinguish who may be sickened by influenza, COVID-19, or other respiratory viral infections. Staff with symptoms should stay home and contact their personal healthcare provider.​

Yes. It is possible to be infected with more than one virus, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza or other respiratory viruses, at the same time. Bacterial pneumonia may complicate viral respiratory infections. By getting your flu vaccine, you will reduce the likelihood of severe outcomes of influenza infection.​

Side effects of the flu shot may include soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site. Some may develop headache, fever, nausea, and/or muscle aches typically lasting 1-2 days.  Serious reactions to the flu shot such as trouble breathing usually develop within minutes or hours after vaccination; in this case, you should get help immediately and call 911. ​

​NIH is currently offering only flu vaccines, beginning September 30. ​​​​