Flu Vaccine Rate Low: CDC

Although it’s early in the flu season, federal health officials are concerned that not enough people are getting vaccinated.

As of early November, only about two out of five people in the U.S. reported having gotten the flu vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

This is similar to last year’s rate at the same time during the season, but officials say that’s low.

“We are glad to see that people are making the decision to protect themselves and their families from flu, but coverage is still low and we urge people to get vaccinated if they haven’t yet,” says Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

“We have a tool that is proven to prevent flu illness and hospitalization but millions of people are not taking advantage of it,” she says, adding, “Too many people are unprotected.”

In this year’s survey, the vaccination rate among older adults was running three percent less than during the same period last year, prompting the CDC’s concern.

“It’s too soon to say whether vaccination in people 50 and older will rebound this season. We certainly hope it will,” Messonnier says.

“About a third of people ages 50 to 64 have medical conditions that put them at high risk of serious flu complications; and we know that declining immune function puts people 65 and older at high risk,” she said.

While flu vaccination is recommended for everyone six months and older, it’s especially important that people in high-risk groups get vaccinated,” she adds.

The CDC also surveyed pregnant women and health care workers regarding flu vaccination. While early estimates show vaccination among pregnant women (47 percent) is six percentage points higher than early estimates last season, more than half of pregnant women remain unvaccinated, the officials say.

Officials are also urging parents to make sure their children get a flu shot this season, as the nasal-spray vaccine is not recommended this flu season.

The flu vaccine last year prevented an estimated five million flu illnesses and 71,000 flu hospitalizations, the CDC estimates.

Past vaccine coverage data has shown that flu vaccination activity drops after November. However, influenza activity has peaked between December and February about 75 percent of the time in the past 30 years, and significant flu activity can occur as late as May, meaning that vaccination after November would still offer substantial protection during most seasons.

The agency released the statistics in conjunction with the 11th National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW), an event to encourage ongoing flu vaccination into the holidays and afterwards.