COCA Call: 2025 - 2026 Clinical Recommendations for Seasonal Influenza Prevention and Control

Thu, 12/11/2025

 

 

2025 - 2026 Clinical Recommendations for Seasonal Influenza Prevention and Control

 

Overview

Influenza causes a significant burden on the health of Americans during most influenza seasons and remains a serious threat due its potential to cause severe illness and death. Annual influenza vaccinations for people aged 6 months and older is an important way to reduce the risk of influenza and its potentially serious complications that can result in hospitalization and death. Testing for influenza virus infection can guide clinical management, including appropriate antiviral treatment, which is particularly important for people at higher risk for progression to severe disease from influenza—regardless of influenza vaccination status. 

 

During this COCA Call, presenters will provide an overview of the burden of influenza disease and discuss recommendations for influenza vaccination, testing, and treatment for people of all ages for the 2025 - 2026 season. 

 

If you are unable to attend the live session of this COCA Call, the closed-captioned video and transcript will be available on the COCA Call webpage approximately one week after the live session.

 

The slide set will be available on the day of the call on the COCA Call webpage under Webinar.

 

Free Continuing Education (CE) will be offered for this COCA Call.

Registration is not required.

 

Influenza remains a serious threat highlighting 

the importance of infection prevention and control.

 

Date: Thursday, December 11, 2025

 

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Webinar Link:

A few minutes before the webinar begins, please click here to join. Registration is not required.

 

Please note: Microsoft Teams will be the platform used for this webinar. The ability to ask questions during the live webinar is limited to the first 1,000 attendees who join the webinar. Questions may be submitted after the live session by emailing coca@cdc.gov.

 

Activity-specific Objectives

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to accomplish the following:

  1. Highlight key recommendations in the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' document, "Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza Practices — United States, 2025-26 Influenza Season."
  2. Describe influenza testing recommendations in outpatients and in hospitalized patients with suspected influenza.
  3. Review antiviral medications for influenza and CDC's recommendations for antiviral treatment of patients with suspected or lab-confirmed influenza. 

 

COCA Call Objectives

  1. Cite background information on the topic covered during the presentation.
  2. Discuss CDC’s role in the topic covered during the presentation.
  3. Describe the topic’s implications for clinicians.
  4. Discuss concerns and/or issues related to preparedness for and/or response to urgent public health threats.
  5. Promote health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention in cooperation with patients, communities, at-risk populations, and other members of an interprofessional team of healthcare providers.

 

Presenters

Tim Uyeki, MD, MPH, MPP 

Chief Medical Officer 

Influenza Division 

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

Lisa A. Grohskopf, MD, MPH

Medical Officer

Influenza Division 

National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

 

Instructions for Obtaining Continuing Education

To receive continuing education (CE) for WC4520R-1211252025 – 2026 Clinical Recommendations for Seasonal Influenza Prevention and Control, please visit CDC TRAIN and search for the course in the Course Catalog using WC4520R-121125. Follow the steps below by January 12, 2026. The registration code is COCA121125.

 

To receive continuing education (CE) for WD4520R-1211252025 – 2026 Clinical Recommendations for Seasonal Influenza Prevention and Control, please visit CDC TRAIN and search for the course in the Course Catalog using WD4520R-121125. Follow the steps below between January 13, 2026, and January 13, 2028.

 

1. Register for and complete the course.

2. Pass the post-assessment at 75%.

3. Complete the evaluation.

4. Visit Your Learning to access your certificates and transcript.

 

Accreditation Statement

an illustration of the COVID-19 virus

In support of improving patient care, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

 

 

CME: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

 

AAPA CME: Credit Designation Statement – Live

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been authorized by the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

 

CNE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designates this activity for 1 nursing contact hours.

 

CPE:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated this Knowledge-based event for pharmacists to receive 0.1 CEUs in pharmacy education. The Universal Activity Number is JA4008229-0000-25-063-L04-P and enduring is JA4008229-0000-25-004-H04-P.

 

CEU:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is authorized by IACET to offer 0.1 CEU’s for this program.

 

CECH:  Sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to total Category I continuing education contact hours. Maximum advanced level continuing education contact hours available are 1. Continuing Competency credits available are 1. CDC provider number 98614.

 

AAVSB/RACE: This program has been submitted (but not yet approved) for 1 hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB RACE approval; however, participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories or restrictions on certain methods of delivery of continuing education.

 

For Certified Public Health Professionals (CPH): The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a pre-approved provider of Certified in Public Health (CPH) recertification credits and is authorized to offer 1 CPH recertification credits for this program.

 

DISCLOSURE: In compliance with continuing education requirements, all planners and presenters/moderators must disclose all financial relationships, in any amount, with ineligible companies over the previous 24 months as well as any use of unlabeled product(s) or products under investigational use. 

 

CDC, our planners, and presenters/moderators wish to disclose they have no financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

 

Content will not include any discussion of the unlabeled use of a product or a product under investigational use with the exception of Dr. Lisa Grohskopf's discussion of the unlabeled use of influenza vaccines in the recommendations for persons with a history of egg allergy and for solid organ transplant recipients aged 18 through 64 years. With regard to persons with a history of egg allergy, history of severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to the vaccine or any of its components (which include egg for certain vaccines) is a labeled contraindication to receipt of most trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV3s) and trivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV3). However, ACIP recommends that all persons aged ≥6 months with egg allergy receive influenza vaccine. Any influenza vaccine (egg based or non-egg based) that is otherwise appropriate for the recipient's age and health status can be used. With regard to solid organ transplant recipients aged 18 through 64 years, the trivalent high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine (HD-IIV3) and trivalent adjuvated inactivated influenza vaccine (aIIV3) are approved for persons aged ≥65 years. However, ACIP recommends that solid organ transplant recipients aged 18 through 64 years who are receiving immunosuppressive medication regimens may receive either HD-IIV3 or aIIV3 as acceptable options, without a preference over other age-appropriate IIV3s or trivalent recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV3).

 

In addition, content will not include any discussion of the unlabeled use of a product or a product under investigational use with the exception of Dr. Tim Uyeki's discussion that CDC recommends oseltamivir treatment for persons of all ages (FDA approval is for persons aged 14 days and older) and that CDC recommends oseltamivir treatment for hospitalized patients (FDA approval is for outpatients).

 

CDC did not accept financial or in-kind support from ineligible companies for this continuing education activity.

CDC complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, age, disability, religion, or sex. To learn more visit: https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/nondiscrimination/index.html

 

 

 

The Office of Emergency Risk Communication in the Office of Communications is responsible for the management of all COCA Products. 

For information about this update or other clinical issues, or to send your feedback, please contact us at coca@cdc.gov

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