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While all the attention seems to be on the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines, doctors say flu shots are important as summer turns to fall and children have returned to in-person learning.
Last year there were fewer cases of contagious respiratory illness, a pleasant byproduct of widespread masking, social distancing and distance learning, said Dr Russell Lampen, infectious disease expert at Spectrum Health, based in Grand Rapids.
“What concerns me is that we are going to see an increase in the rates of influenza again. The flu, although weak last year, has not gone away. And like all viruses, it looks for an opportunity and looks for individuals with the potential to infect, ”Lampen said on a call with reporters earlier this month.
It is important to note that on average, about 25,000 to 35,000 deaths are due to influenza, each year in the United States, he said.
Michigan’s healthcare systems, grappling with numbers and an influx of patients, are currently overburdened. Some are linked to the pandemic.
“And if we can do something to prevent these deaths and hospitalizations, that will be important,” Lampen said.
During the 2020-2021 season, from July 2020 to June, flu shots were on the rise among adults in Michigan. Up to June, approximately 3.4 million doses have been administered. This represents about 34% of the population. The target was approximately 4.3 million doses administered.
A year earlier, in 2019-2020, about 32% of the population was immune to the flu, caused by viruses infecting the nose, throat and lungs, according to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Last year, the state launched a “Face the Flu Together” campaign to encourage flu shots, prevent disease and preserve the resources needed to fight COVID-19.
The numbers were higher in all but one age group. The percentage of children aged 5 to 12 vaccinated during the 2019-2020 season was 29.4%, slightly higher than the 29.3% vaccinated in the last season.
People aged 65 and over, a particularly vulnerable group, were vaccinated at the highest rate, around 60%. Those aged 18-24 had the lowest rate, around 20%.
Throughout the last flu season, the disease was on the decline. At the height of the 2019-2020 season, approximately 4.2% of patients who visited the office had flu-like illness. Around the same time last season, the percentage was well below 1%. The baseline is 1.9%. Influenza activity generally peaks from December to February.
Overall, 14,388 patient visits were reported as having ILI during the 2019-2020 influenza season. For the 2020-2021 season, they were 2391. However, fewer reports were submitted during the last flu season due to the pandemic. Many ambulatory care providers have not seen in-office patients with flu-like symptoms and many refused to participate in the flu surveillance program last season, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. (The data, drawn from a sample of providers who volunteer to participate in about half of Michigan’s counties, may not be representative of the state as a whole.)
There were 10 influenza-associated hospitalizations last season as part of an October-April surveillance project involving Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Ingham and Washtenaw counties and no pediatric deaths.
In the season starting in 2019, there were 948 hospitalizations and six child deaths confirmed by the MDHHS.
The reduced immunity of the population due to the lack of activity of the influenza virus since March 2020 could lead to an early and possibly severe influenza season, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Because there are no longer universal masking protocols, there is expected to be an influenza season in 2021, said Kerry Ott, public information officer for the LMAS health department, serving four counties in the upper peninsula. People have largely returned to normal since the state lifted health orders restricting certain activities and COVID-19 vaccines became widely available. Many have adopted vaccines; others remain suspicious.
“We’re concerned that a lot of people aren’t getting the flu shot this year, just because of the association they’ve made between the flu and COVID, and thinking they’re the same thing. And they’re not completely different viruses, ”said Ott.
She noted the much higher death toll. Nearly 21,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Michigan since the start of the pandemic, and coronavirus cases in Michigan and across the country have increased.
People should not wait for an increase in influenza transmission to get a flu shot. Ideally, people 6 months and older should be immunized by the end of October, according to the CDC. The oldest and youngest populations are most at risk.
The flu shot schedule could coincide with the expected approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, doctors said.
RELATED: Pfizer Reports Positive Results In Childhood COVID-19 Vaccine Trials
While there have been discussions about the weeks to wait between COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccinations, that is no longer the recommendation, said Dr Alanna Nzoma, a Michigan Medicine pediatrician at a clinic in Brighton in a recent live question-and-answer session hosted by Health. system.
“We recommend that if your child is able to get the vaccine as soon as possible, we recommend that you do what you do for them,” she said.
COVID and influenza vaccines can be safely given at the same time, she said. This also applies to adults, the doctors said.
Interestingly, Maryland-based vaccine developer Novavax is studying a combined influenza-COVID-19 vaccine, said Dr. Elizabeth Lloyd, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the CS Mott Children’s Hospital of Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor.
Flu shots can prevent flu-related illnesses and doctor visits, according to the CDC; reduce the severity of illness in vaccinated people who are still infected; decrease the risk of hospitalizations associated with influenza; lower rates of cardiac events in people with heart disease; protect pregnant women; and reduce the risk of death from influenza in children.
People can get flu shots at most major pharmacies, such as Walgreens and Rite Aid, health care providers, and health departments. Most health insurance covers flu shots.
Learn more about MLive:
Where can I get a free flu shot? Here is what you need to know
FDA advisers refuse to recommend vaccine booster to general public
Legal precedents appear to support Biden’s national coronavirus vaccine order, legal experts say
What we know about the Mu variant and why the Delta remains the greatest COVID-19 threat
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