Syracuse,NY – Onondaga County’s top public health doctor is concerned that significantly fewer county residents are getting their seasonal flu shot this year,fueled by growing vaccine skepticism.
The controversy surrounding vaccines has extended to the flu shot, despite the lack of federal restrictions on it – unlike annual Covid boosters – according to Dr. Kathryn Anderson, the county health commissioner.
Typically,over half of Americans recieve the seasonal flu vaccine,according to federal data. However, that rate has been declining since the Covid pandemic.
So far this year, only 27% of Onondaga County residents have been vaccinated, according to state data.This represents a decline of approximately 60,000 people compared to previous years,when over 40% had received the shot by this time. (The remaining 10% or so typically get vaccinated between December and May, according to federal data.)
Statewide,21% have gotten the vaccine so far,representing nearly 4 million fewer vaccinations than at this point in recent years.Considering this drop, Anderson is urging people to get a flu shot now.
The number of flu cases has risen sharply in recent weeks, prompting the state to make its annual declaration of flu season on Tuesday.
Over the past three weeks, Upstate University Hospital’s ER has treated nearly 1,800 people for flu-like symptoms, according to hospital data. Statewide,more than 17,500 flu cases were reported in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
Flu vaccination rates increased with public health campaigns in recent decades, peaking at 52% of Americans in 2020-21 before declining for the past three seasons. A survey of American attitudes toward flu vaccines revealed that 40% of respondents were worried about side effects, feared getting sick from the vaccine, or questioned its effectiveness, according to the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases.