The Michigan Association of Family Physicians hosted a virtual media roundtable with doctors from across the state of Michigan on Monday to discuss the severity of the upcoming flu season and urge residents of all ages to receive their flu vaccine as soon as possible.
“A common misperception with regard to the flu vaccine comes from parents who think children cannot be vaccinated,” said Dr. Beena Nagappala, president of Michigan Academy of Family Physicians. “Children six months and older, and pregnant or breastfeeding women should receive their flu vaccine, as babies have the least immunity to the flu!”
Dr. Vincent Winkler-Prins of Petoskey, is particularly concerned about flu vaccination rates in rural parts of Michigan.
“Flu vaccination rates for children living in rural areas worsened last season — 19 percentage points lower than for children living in urban areas,” he said. “As the cold weather sets in and we spend more time inside together, please ensure your entire family is protected from influenza before peak caseload hits.”
“The flu should still be regarded as a major public health threat,” said Dr. Nirali Bora, medical director of the Kent County Health Department. “Last year in the U.S., 21,000 people died from the flu, including 177 children. This is far too many deaths from an illness that’s preventable with an effective, accessible vaccine.”
Flu season started severely last year, with an early hospitalization peak in October 2022, and a season high in cases in December 2022. Despite this, survey data from 2023 shows that people’s intent to become vaccinated against the flu is low overall.
Last year, Michigan’s public health goal was to vaccinate at least 4 million residents against the flu, and just over 3 million were actually vaccinated.
Public health officials have set the same goal this flu season: 4 million residents vaccinated.
As of Monday, the state’s data shows administration of flu vaccines lagging significantly behind compared to the past four flu seasons.
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