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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted its recommendations for the 2025–2026 flu season, which are largely the same from years past. Among the key changes are: the approval of the FluMist nasal spray influenza vaccine for self-administration or caregiver administration; and the expansion of the approved age threshold for the Flublok vaccine from age 18 years or older to 9 years or older. Overall, the routine annual flu vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older who does not have a contraindication, according to CDC.
Business prospects: Flu shots are often considered a preventive service, typically not reimbursable in an “episodic care” setting like urgent care, according to Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM. Also, many insurer contracts typically only reimburse flu shots as part of a medical visit, and case rate contracts bundle ancillary and E/M (evaluation and management) services into 1 rate, meaning the urgent care would not be reimbursed separately for the flu shot, Ayers says. Recently supermarkets, drug stores, and large retailers have offered flu shots with no out-of-pocket costs for patients, sometimes with added incentives such as gift cards. These competitors have greater scale and can also profit from the foot traffic for retail sales. “For these reasons, urgent care has largely surrendered flu shots to primary care and big retail,” Ayers says.