What you need to know for this year's flu, cold and COVID season

WBUR
WBUR
Sep 18, 2026

WBUR's Tiziana Dearing takes us through this week's top headlines. The City of Boston released a report (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/09/14/flock-boston-police-pilot-surveillance-technology-report) saying Flock Safety failed to keep its data secure during a 2025 pilot. Rep. Lori Trahan, along with other Democrats, urged congress to quickly work on guardrails for artificial intelligence. And Ed Sheeran's upcoming at Gillette stadium is at the center of a fiery debate about censorship (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/09/17/ed-sheeran-macklemore-tour-artists-drop-out) - specifically about Israel-Palestine.




We also spoke (https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/09/17/boston-free-flu-covid-vaccine-fall-clinics) to Dr. Ashish Jha, who's the former COVID-19 response coordinator for the Biden administration. He shared the advice he gives his own family members on vaccines.