Flu season is starting early in Colorado

On October 12, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced that flu is picking up earlier than usual. Hospitals are seeing more positive flu tests and more flu hospitalizations, weeks before the season usually gets going. That matters more than usual this year, because last season was the worst Colorado has recorded.

What happened last season

The 2025–26 flu season set records in Colorado:

• 5,931 flu hospitalizations, the highest yearly total since the state began tracking in 2004.
• 1,169 children hospitalized, also a record.
• Eight Colorado children died from the flu.

The state called it its most severe pediatric flu season on record. Nobody can predict exactly how this season will go, but an early start is a good reason not to wait.

Get vaccinated by the end of October

Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every year. It's especially important for babies and young children, adults 65 and older, pregnant people and anyone with a chronic condition like asthma, diabetes or heart disease.

Protection takes about two weeks to build after the shot, which is why the state recommends getting it by the end of October. If you've missed that, getting it later is still worth it.

In Colorado you can get a flu shot at pharmacies, doctor's and pediatric offices, local public health agencies and community health centers. Most insurance plans cover it in full, including Medicaid and CHP+. Families without insurance can get free or low-cost vaccines for children at nearly 600 locations across the state.

If you get sick

Most healthy adults recover from the flu at home with rest, fluids and fever medicine. Stay home until your fever has been gone for a full day without medicine and you're feeling better, and wash your hands often so the rest of the house stays well.

Call your doctor early, within the first day or two of symptoms, if you or your child is at higher risk: under 5 or over 65, pregnant, or living with asthma, lung disease, diabetes or heart disease. Flu antiviral medicine works best when it's started within one to two days of the first symptoms. It can shorten the illness and lower the chance of complications. Most healthy people with a mild case don't need it.

When it's more than the flu

Get care right away, or call 911, for trouble breathing, chest pain or pressure, confusion, a seizure, severe weakness, not urinating, or a child who is hard to wake. Also get seen if you start to feel better and then get worse again with a new fever or a worse cough. That can mean pneumonia.

Measles is also circulating in Colorado this year. My measles note covers how to check your family's vaccine records.

Sources: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Flu activity rising early in Colorado, prompting urgent call for vaccination. October 12, 2026. cdphe.colorado.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Treating flu with antiviral drugs. cdc.gov.