Here’s how to prepare for this cold and flu season
Here are some ways to prepare for this cold and flu season as four illnesses currently circulate the country.
- Doctors say it is not too late to get a flu vaccine
- Five childrenin Michigan have died from the flu in 2025.
You’re not imagining it. This winter season has been a difficult one for respiratory illnesses, primarily the flu, with young kids being most impacted.
The percentage of emergency department visits in Michigan for this season’s three main culprits – the flu, RSV, and COVID-19 – have been highest for newborns and those 2-4 years of age.
As a new parent, protecting your kid from infectious diseases may seem daunting, but there are simple, doctor-approved methods to keep your baby safe.
Experts emphasized the importance of preventative steps, including talking to your doctor about how to avoid respiratory illnesses this season. And it is never too late to get both yourself and your kids vaccinated against illnesses, especially the flu.
If your kid is already sick and is exhibiting any of the symptoms listed below, seek emergency care immediately. For milder cases, experts recommend over the counter meds, among other options for identifying a virus and treating its symptoms.
When to go to the emergency room
The flu needs to be taken seriously, said Rachel Klamo, a family physician at Henry Ford Health. In 2024, there were 200 pediatric deaths from the flu in Michigan. This year, there have already been five.
“This is not the common cold that you brush off,” Klamo said.
It’s important for parents to know the emergency warning signs for the flu and other respiratory illnesses that can have severe outcomes in this especially vulnerable population. According to the Centers for Disease Control, seek immediate medical care for your child when any of the following are present:
- Fast-paced breathing or trouble breathing (This might manifest as trouble eating, drinking, or speaking in full sentences due to shortness of breath)
- Bluish in the face or lips
- Ribs that suck in towards the back with each breath, known as retractions
- Chest pain
- Severe muscle pain (For example, if a child can’t walk)
- Dehydration (No urine for eight hours, dry mouth, no tears when crying)
- Lack of alertness or interacting when awake
- Seizures
- Fever above 104 degrees that doesn’t go down with fever-reducing medicine; In children younger than three months, any fever necessitates immediate medical care.
- Fever or cough that improves, but then returns or worsens
If you have a child not showing any of the above signs, but exhibiting other symptoms, combination COVID-19/flu tests are a great first step to identifying what virus they may have, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, an infectious disease expert and Michigan’s chief medical executive. She suggests testing everyone in the family who is symptomatic.
Bagdasarian also recommends ensuring kids take in a lot of fluids and said over the counter medicines like Tylenol and ibuprofen (on a full stomach when possible) are good fever reducers.
“Give those medications around the clock, so that you’re scheduling the doses rather than waiting for the fever to come back,” she said.
‘Little ones’ most impacted
Of the three main respiratory illnesses, the flu has dominated this season, while COVID-19 and RSV have been milder than in years past.
These illnesses have impacted young children especially, because their immature immune systems are more susceptible to infection.
The state is not yet past its peak for these respiratory illnesses as trends continue upward, particularly for the flu, according to Dr. Joseph Fakhoury, a pediatric hospitalist in Kalamazoo and president of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Michigan.
Bagdasarian flagged two other illnesses parents should speak to their doctors about. The first is pertussis, known as whooping cough, on the rise in Michigan. The illness can severely impact babies and young kids.
“In 2024, there was a major increase in the number of cases of whooping cough, close to 2000 cases when on average we’ve seen less than 100 cases per year. This is a massive increase,” Bagdasarian said. “I expect 2025 to be the same.”
The second is measles, which had previously been declared eliminated from the United States because cases were so low. But due to steadily decreasing vaccination rates in the country, outbreaks have recently occurred, most recently in West Texas where the outbreak resulted in the death of one unvaccinated school-age child.
‘Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate’
As a parent herself, Bagdasarian said she understands the overwhelm and distress of having a sick kid. But, she said she wants parents to know that the tools to protect their babies from these illnesses are available.
“Vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate,” said Debra Langlois, a pediatrician at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. This is the single most important way to keep your baby safe and healthy, and also reduce health anxiety, according to doctors and health experts.
The bottom line: it’s never too late to get vaccinated against this season’s respiratory diseases, according to Veronica McNally, who founded the I Vaccinate campaign after losing her 3-month-old daughter to whooping cough in 2012.
If you are pregnant, talk to your doctor about getting the Tdap (which protects against whooping cough among other illnesses), flu, RSV, and COVID-19 vaccines. In order to give your baby a circle of protection, those around the baby should be vaccinated against respiratory illnesses including the flu, whooping cough, and COVID-19.
“Protection coming from mom and dad and those who will be around the baby is tantamount,” said Dr. Kevin Dazy, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
For newborns, the RSV antibody shot is available as determined by your doctor based on maternal vaccination status, and your newborn can begin to get their whooping cough vaccines, known as Dtap, starting at 2 months of age. At 6 months old, your baby can receive their first COVID-19 and flu vaccine. You can find a full list of essential vaccines for yourself and your children by age at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules.
In Michigan, vaccination rates overall, including for all types of pediatric vaccines, are “far below what we would consider ideal,” according to Klamo. The lower vaccination rate is not the result of barriers to access but is instead most often the result of health misinformation. “Where we’re struggling is patients who have information that’s just widely off the mark and they’re not necessarily sensing the value of the vaccines,” Klamo said.
Bagdasarian acknowledges that everything has some level of risk, but for vaccines the benefits far outweigh potential risks. Many of the vaccines, including for the flu, have been around for decades and have a long track record of safety, she said. While no vaccine is 100% effective, vaccines effectively prevent and minimize severity of illness, said McNally.
The more people vaccinated, the lower the chance of transmission – a concept known as herd immunity. When you get vaccinated, you’re protecting your whole community, she said.
Practice good, common-sense hygiene
Cleaning hands regularly, covering mouths when sneezing or coughing, wearing a mask in high risk situations, and keeping good air circulation in the home are all simple actions with big payoffs, Klamo said. “Hand washing cannot be overemphasized,” she said.
Langlois advises parents to avoid crowded areas during this time of higher prevalence of illness. She also suggests limiting sick family members’ contact with your child.
“Don’t kiss baby on the face,” she said.
For parents with children in a daycare setting, Dazy acknowledges that there is inherent risk of spread in these group child settings, but said parents can ask providers questions.
“Make sure you feel confident that your children’s caretaker is doing everything in their power to decrease the spread and that they are vaccinated against these illnesses,” Dazy said.
And don’t spread germs yourself.
“You don’t want to send your child to school or daycare if they are ill,” said Fakhoury.
Beki San Martin is a fellow at the Detroit Free Press who covers childcare, early childhood education and other issues that affect the lives of children ages five and under and their families in metro Detroit and across Michigan. Contact her at [email protected]
This fellowship is supported by the Bainum Family Foundation. The Free Press retains editorial control of this work.
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