Preparing for the Unpredictability of Influenza: 5 Considerations As We Prepare Now for 2026-2027

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Given its unpredictability, seasonal influenza continues to put a significant burden on communities and healthcare systems.¹ For the second season in a row, influenza rates have been notably high across the United States,^2,3 and the 2025-2026 season’s predominant strain (influenza A) has been associated with more flu-related hospitalizations and deaths in people 65 years and older.⁴ While headlines often focus on national infection rates, behind every statistic is a person, professional, and local community impacted in unique ways. With health care professionals already preparing for the next respiratory disease season based on what we learned this year, here are five insights that underscore how taking action today to secure vaccine supply can protect your patients and your practice when the unpredictability of influenza rears.

#1 Regional variations can complicate risk

Last season, hospitalization rates for older adults varied dramatically by region. For example, while influenza rates were serious across all regions of the United States, seniors in the Southeast faced ~30% higher peak hospitalization rates than those in New England.⁵

Takeaway: Don’t assume your region will mirror national trends. Monitor local data (NFID and CDC dashboards) and plan for worst-case scenarios by being prepared for prevention, even later in the season.

#2 Hospitalization rates tell a compelling story

Even when a season looks “moderate” on paper, older adults bear a disproportionate burden and need more institutional care. In the 2023–24 season, people 65 and older accounted for ~237,000 hospitalizations and ~19,000 deaths, with hospitalization rates 8-9 times higher than for younger adults.⁶ The 2024-25 season was even more severe: the rate of hospitalizations in older adults aged 75 and older reached nearly 600 per 100,000 people,⁷ which was the highest rate in over a decade.

Takeaway: Higher-dose or adjuvanted vaccines have been shown to be more effective for older adults, and medical experts preferentially recommend protecting adults 65 years and older with one of these vaccines, if available, versus unadjuvanted standard-dose vaccines.⁸

#3 Strain shifts drive uncertainty

The mix of circulating strains matters. Viral drift can be hard to predict, and vaccine strain selection happens months in advance based on the best available data. That fact might tempt some of your patients to assume that vaccination “won’t make a difference.”

Healthcare providers have an opportunity to combat this assumption with the evidence that vaccinated adults are less likely to be hospitalized with influenza.⁹ And for patients 65 and older, higher-dose vaccines may still provide necessary protection from influenza and its complications when strains drift from what was forecast.¹⁰

Takeaway: Vaccination is one of our best defenses against the unpredictability of influenza and its complications, even if strains shift. By building flexibility into your vaccine supply, including ensuring you have formulations that may better help those 65 years and older when the predominating strain can vary, you are giving those patients an opportunity to potentially avoid hospitalization and ride out the infection at home.

#4 Flu can strain your community’s economy

Beyond clinical impact, influenza is an economic disruptor. Each adult hospitalization costs $11,000–$14,000 on average,¹¹ and hospital readmission costs are estimated at nearly $15,000 with 85.8% of all 30-day all-cause readmissions occurring in people over the age of 45.¹² Even among healthcare workers, the impact of influenza can hit hard, with physicians often getting sick and being forced to miss work or even work while sick.¹³ These indirect costs add up fast: workplace absenteeism linked to influenza drains billions annually, with $2.9 billion per year attributed to lost productivity among adults aged 50–64 alone.¹⁴

Takeaway: Encourage vaccination not just for patient health but for community impact, too. By serving as a proactive partner for patients, you can help keep your community resilient, which offers more time for doing the things that keep us fulfilled and productive.

#5 Vaccination is our best defense

Your patients may feel uncertain about what the current vaccination recommendations are, but experts, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) agree that annual influenza vaccination remains the most effective strategy for prevention, especially for older adults.^15,16 Higher-dose and adjuvanted flu vaccines may improve immune response in older people.^17,18 Reserving influenza vaccine supply for the 2026-27 season now can help ensure you’re ready.

Takeaway: Protecting patients from influenza is a year-round endeavor, and the thought we put into planning today is key to providing timely protection when needed. Reserving an influenza vaccine portfolio that serves patients across the recommended age span may be one of the best ways to protect the patient population during the influenza season.

As one of the largest providers of influenza vaccines to the United States, Sanofi offers a range of vaccine options, including higher-dose vaccines, supported by extensive data to help protect eligible patients from influenza and its complications, by meeting immunization needs for children as young as six months old through adults aged 65 and older. By monitoring regional trends, prioritizing age-appropriate vaccines, and preordering early from VaccineShoppe.com, you may improve your chances of protecting your patients and your practice from whatever surprises influenza may bring next season.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preliminary estimated flu disease burden 2024-2025 flu season. May 9, 2025. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/ flu-burden/php/data-vis/2024-2025.html. Accessed July 23, 2025.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza Activity in the United States during the 2024-25 Season and Composition of the 2025-26 Influenza Vaccine. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/whats-new/2025-2026-influenza-activity.html. Accessed February 19, 2026.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 5, ending February 7, 2026. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/surveillance/2026-week-05.html. Accessed February 19, 2026. 
4. Centers for Disease Control. 2025-2026 Flu Season. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/2025-2026.html. Accessed February 19, 2026.
5. Centers for Disease Control Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET). Available at https://www.cdc.gov/resp-net/dashboard/index.html. Accessed January 8, 2026.
6. Centers for Disease Control Preliminary Estimated Flu Disease Burden 2023–2024 Flu Season. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/flu-burden/php/data-vis/2023-2024.html. Accessed January 8, 2026.
7. Centers for Disease Control Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations During a High Severity Season — Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, United States, 2024–25 Influenza Season. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7434a1.htm. Accessed January 8, 2026.
8. Grohskopf LA, et al. Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immmunization Practices – United States, 2025-26 Influenza Season. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2025;74:500-507. DOI:1http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7432a2.
9. Tenforde MW, et.al. Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Against Influenza A–Associated Emergency Department, Urgent Care, and Hospitalization Encounters Among US Adults, 2022–2023. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 230, Issue 1, 15 July 2024, Pages 141–151, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiad542.
10. Arunachalam AB, Post P, Rudin D. NPJ Vaccines. 2021;6:144. doi:10.1038/s41541-021-00403-7.
11. Tianyan Hu, Amanda C. Miles, Taryn Pond, Constantina Boikos, Farzaneh Maleki, Tamuno Alfred, Santiago M. C. Lopez & Leah McGrath (2024) Economic burden and secondary complications of influenza-related hospitalization among adults in the US: a retrospective cohort study. J Med Econ, 27:1, 324-336, DOI: 10.1080/13696998.2024.2314429.
12. Yandrapalli S, et al. Readmissions in adult patients following hospitalization for influenza: a nationwide cohort study. Ann Transl Med. 2018;6:318.
13. Blanchet Zumofen, MH., Frimpter, J. & Hansen, S.A. Impact of Influenza and Influenza-Like Illness on Work Productivity Outcomes: A Systematic Literature Review. PharmacoEconomics 41, 253–273 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40273-022-01224-9.
14. Dounas A, et al. Economic Burden due to Seasonal Influenza in Subjects Aged 50-64 in the USA. Presented at ISPOR Europe 2024. Available at: https://www.ispor.org/docs/default-source/euro2024/isporeurope24dounas-ee596poster144795-pdf.pdf. Accessed January 8, 2026.
15. Czaha CA, et.al. Age-Related Differences in Hospitalization Rates, Clinical Presentation, and Outcomes Among Older Adults Hospitalized With Influenza—U.S. Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET). Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2019, ofz225, https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofz225.
16. American Academy of Family Physicians. Seasonal Influenza Prevention & Control: Fall 2025-26 Immunizations Recommendations. Available at https://www.aafp.org/family-physician/patient-care/prevention-wellness/immunizations-vaccines/disease-pop-immunization/influenza.html. Accessed on January 20, 2026.
17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, September 5). Flu and people 65 years and older. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/65over.htm
18. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, September 9). Recombinant influenza (flu) vaccine (Flublok). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccine-types/flublok-vaccine.html