FRIDAY, Oct. 8, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A new survey showing that nearly half of U.S. adults are not likely to get a flu shot this season has prompted federal health officials to urge all Americans to get the flu vaccines.
Even more troubling is that the poll of 1,110 respondents aged 18 years and older also showed that nearly one in four of those at high risk for flu-related complications said they do not intend to get a flu shot, The New York Times reported. Overall, 61 percent of respondents agreed that vaccination provides the best protection against the flu, but 44 percent said they either did not intend to get a shot or were unsure whether they would get one. The survey was commissioned by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
The severity of the upcoming flu season is unclear, but other respiratory infections have already returned, Rochelle Walensky, M.D., head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a Thursday news briefing to release the survey data. She noted that because last year’s flu season was so mild, people do not have the natural immunity to the flu they might have gained if they had gotten sick, The Times reported.
Walensky also raised alarms about a decline in the flu vaccination rates among young children, to 59 percent from 64 percent the year before. In the 2019-2020 season, she said, 199 children died from the flu, about 80 percent of whom were not vaccinated. This year’s overall U.S. flu vaccination rate of about 52 percent is similar to last year’s, but there is a “disparity gap” between Whites (56 percent) and Blacks (43 percent), Walensky noted.
The survey did suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a positive effect on behaviors that could help reduce the spread of the flu. Nearly half of the respondents said the pandemic has made them more likely to stay home from work or school if they are sick, and 54 percent said they would wear a mask at least sometimes during the flu season, The Times reported.
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