The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) is urging South Africans to get vaccinated ahead of the influenza season.

This year, the flu season began in the last week of March, four weeks earlier than in 2024. According to pneumonia surveillance in public hospitals, it’s the earliest start to the season since 2010. The seasonal influenza vaccine is available at public health clinics as well as through private healthcare providers, including general practitioners and pharmacies.

“The flu vaccine is particularly recommended for people at high risk of severe illness. This includes pregnant women, people living with HIV, individuals with chronic conditions like diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, tuberculosis, kidney disease, or obesity, older adults (65 years and older) and children younger than two years. These groups are encouraged to get the flu vaccine because they are at higher risk of severe disease,” head of the NICD’s Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, Professor Cheryl Cohen elaborates.

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