School staff know how important it is to take precautions against seasonal illnesses. Each fall, school professionals play an important role in preparing students, staff, and families for cold and flu season.
Influenza and common cold activity usually begin to rise in October. However, the severity and timing of each year’s season (as well as the specific flu strain that will spread) are difficult to predict. The common cold also peaks during the fall and winter months, and can even last into early spring.
For the 2026–2027 cold and flu season, health experts updated the flu vaccine to best match the influenza viruses expected to circulate. This year’s vaccine is trivalent, meaning the shot or nasal spray helps protect against three influenza viruses: two influenza A viruses and one influenza B virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that most people get their flu shots in September or October for the best protection. These flu vaccine recommendations can help keep students and school professionals healthy and safe, even as the virus spreads. In this post, we’ll discuss what school professionals and communities should know about the cold and flu season for 2026–2027.
Typical Symptoms
For school professionals, distinguishing the difference between the common cold and influenza can be difficult because the symptoms are often very similar. Sometimes only special tests can confirm the flu, but knowing the symptoms helps school nurses respond appropriately when staff or students become ill.
Both illnesses are contagious respiratory infections with overlapping symptoms, but their onset and severity can differ.
Symptoms of Influenza
Influenza, more commonly called “the flu,” is highly contagious and caused by various influenza viruses. Unlike the common cold, flu symptoms can begin suddenly. According to the CDC’s flu symptom guidance, typical flu symptoms can include:
- Cough
- Headache
- Fever or feeling feverish
- Chills
- A runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Fatigue
- Sore throat
- Vomiting or diarrhea, which are more common in children than adults
Not everyone with influenza gets a fever, so students or staff may not realize they have it and could spread it to others. In many cases, people develop fevers or other recognizable symptoms and recover within a few days to less than two weeks. Unfortunately, complications are possible. One of the most serious risks is pneumonia, but the flu can also worsen asthma or chronic heart disease.
Young children, older adults, pregnant people, and people with certain chronic conditions face a higher risk of serious flu-related complications. They should seek attention from a care provider if they develop symptoms. School professionals should know district or school policies on illness symptoms and encourage staff or students with concerning or worsening symptoms to see their healthcare provider.
Symptoms of the Common Cold
The common cold is caused by different virus strains than influenza, and the symptoms are usually more mild than the flu. They most commonly include:
- Runny nose
- Stuffy nose
- Scratchy throat
- Sore throat
- Sneezing
- Mild cough
- Thickening mucus
- Body aches
- Slight headaches
- Low-grade fever (more common in children)
The common cold generally doesn’t lead to serious health problems, but symptoms and severity can cause missed school days or distracting discomfort for students.
How Do You Treat a Cold vs. the Flu?
The CDC encourages each school to have policies in place for common sicknesses. Treatments for the common cold and the flu differ, but school nurses can help students and staff know what to do if symptoms progress at school.
Helping Students With the Flu
Typically, if a student possibly has the flu, a school nurse should isolate the student and contact their guardian for pickup. They should also educate the family about return-to-school policies, such as being fever-free for 24 hours without medication.
The flu doesn’t always require treatment and, in most cases, people with a mild flu can recover at home. Recovery usually involves resting, drinking fluids to stay hydrated, avoiding close contact with others, eating healthy foods when possible, and taking medications (such as fever reducers) as needed.
Helping Students With the Common Cold
Most schools allow students to attend school with mild common cold symptoms if they aren’t preventing the child from actively participating in class or distracting others. Typically, school nurses should consider sending students home if they have high temperatures, severe cold symptoms, or worsening conditions as the day goes on.
Preventing Respiratory Illness in Schools
School professionals play a key role in helping staff, students, and families stay healthy. They can do this through vaccine education, good hygiene practices, and establishing or knowing school health policies.
For the flu, annual vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk of the seasonal illness and its potentially serious complications. The current CDC guidance recommends routine flu vaccination for everyone aged six months and older, with rare exceptions. There is currently no vaccine for the common cold because of the large number of viruses and its generally low severity.
But vaccination isn’t the only way to help stop the spread of the flu and common cold. The CDC reports that healthy habits help prevent the spread of illnesses.
Schools in particular can support vaccination by:
- Sharing information about annual flu vaccination with families, students, and staff
- Encouraging staff and families to discuss vaccinations and healthy habits with healthcare providers
- Connecting school populations to local vaccination resources or clinics
- Following state and local immunization requirements and illness policies
Schools can also prevent the spread of illness through healthy hygiene practices. This includes:
- Routinely cleaning surfaces
- Encouraging hand washing
- Providing handwashing and sanitization supplies
- Teaching sneezing and coughing etiquette
- Supporting cleaner air in school buildings
- Opening windows when possible
- Encouraging students and staff to stay home when sick
School professionals can also prepare before colds and influenza spread. Administrators and school healthcare teams should review their outbreak response and absentee policies. Order supplies such as soap, tissues, and hand sanitizer early to ensure you have enough for the season.
School health plans should address how to separate sick students and staff from others until they can go home. Encouraging vaccination and reinforcing preventive hygiene habits can also help reduce disruptions during flu season.
Stay Safe at School and Keep Updated With SHC
The updated vaccine guidance helps you understand what you need to do to keep staff, students, and families safe during the 2026–2027 flu season. At Supplemental Health Care, we’re committed to strengthening healthier schools by supporting school health professionals. As school nurses and providers support educators, students, and families throughout cold and flu season, SHC offers guidance and opportunities.
Explore current positions with Supplemental Health Care and find your next school nurse assignment.
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