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Infectious Respiratory Diseases

Learn more about common infectious respiratory diseases and how you can protect yourself and your loved ones against severe illness.

Infectious respiratory diseases pose a risk to our health.

Whether from COVID-19, influenza (flu), pertussis (whooping cough), pneumococcal disease, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), infectious respiratory diseases can cause severe and sometimes life-threatening illness, especially for those with risk factors for severe illness.

These infectious respiratory diseases are spread from person to person and can cause severe infections, worsen pre-existing respiratory conditions, and lead to short and long-term side effects — and nearly everyone is at risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends different vaccines to provide protection, build our defenses, and limit the severity, spread, and widespread threat of infectious respiratory disease. 

Infectious Respiratory Diseases

Learn more about common infectious respiratory diseases and how you can protect yourself and your loved ones against severe illness.

Vaccines

Infectious respiratory diseases can cause severe and sometimes life-threatening illness.

Staying up to date with recommended vaccines is the best way to help avoid severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

New CVEEP Survey: Pandemic Preparedness and Public Understanding of Vaccine Science

Learn more about the results of a survey exploring the current perceptions of consumers and pharmacists who led much of the country’s vaccination efforts, to better understand how prepared we feel as a country for the next pandemic or health crisis.

Treatments

Treatments are available for some infectious respiratory diseases to help reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent serious outcomes, especially among people who are more vulnerable to illness.

Learn more about available treatment options and the benefits they offer.