As National Influenza Vaccination Week approaches from Dec. 5 through Dec. 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning Americans to get vaccinated against influenza before the season kicks into high gear.
"Don't be fooled by the past few months. Flu is coming," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, said at a Dec. 3 media briefing. "And in most years, flu is most active in the winter months." Last season was unusual, she said, because "by this time a year ago, we'd already seen a tremendous amount" of influenza due to the H1N1 virus. But in a typical season, influenza is most intense between January and March.
There are early signs that influenza spread is on the upswing, officials said. "Sharp increases" in influenza activity have been seen in the southeastern United States, Dr. Schuchat said, especially in Georgia and particularly among school-age children.
In the Southeast, where Georgia was the only one of the region's eight districts to report data, 19.3% of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness yielded positive tests for flu virus. The good news, Dr. Schuchat said, is that the circulating strain appears to be a good match to the influenza B strain contained in this year’s seasonal flu vaccine. CDC regional surveillance data is current for the past 3 weeks.
More than 12,000 people died from the 2009 H1N1 virus. This year, there has been at least one pediatric death from influenza, Dr. Schuchat said. Because of the potential for severe illness and death, it is that much more important to encourage people to get this year's seasonal influenza vaccine, which contains strains of the 2009 H1N1 A virus, the H3N2 influenza A virus, and influenza B, officials said.
A CDC telephone survey indicated that some people – but not all – have heeded the agency’s message for everyone with the exception of children under 6 months old to get vaccinated. The agency surveyed approximately 38,000 adults and 9,100 children through the second week of November, and found that about 33% of respondents reported having gotten vaccinated. About two-thirds reported getting vaccinated at a doctor's office, clinic, or hospital, about 16% were vaccinated at a supermarket, retail, or pharmacy clinic, and about 18% were vaccinated at their workplace or school, Dr. Schuchat said.