It’s not too late to get your flu shot, according to a Tennessee health expert – WBIR.com

Flu vaccination rates are down across the country, including in East Tennessee.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Flu vaccination rates are continuing to drop, including in East Tennessee.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 155 million doses of the flu vaccine were distributed by the end of last year, compared to more than 170 million doses around two years ago.

The CDC is still listing Tennessee as "very high" when it comes to flu-like activity. That's the highest ranking a state can get.

Flu vaccination rates are down across the country and Dr. Corinne Tandy, the division director of epidemiology for the Knox County Health Department, said it's no different in Tennessee.

"Flu shot coverage has always been a little bit tricky because it changes every year. You have to do it every year," said Dr. Tandy. "And so it's hard to say exactly why people may be getting vaccinated less right now. But, we have seen an overall decline in several other vaccinations since the COVID pandemic. And so it might be related."

Dr. Tandy said in Knox County, flu and other respiratory illness activity was starting to go down ahead of a recent winter storm.

"We are fairly confident that it's not necessarily due to people not getting tested because of the snow," said Dr. Tandy. "So, we're seeing a decrease in other respiratory viruses like RSV, and COVID, as well."

But now that people are back to their normal schedules, that could change.

"It's really going to depend a lot on the community level circulating, you know. Because folks may go back to school, for example, or some other, you know, kind of larger gathering like that," said Dr. Tandy. "And you know, it may spread through there. So we may see some blips, but it may not in some communities, and we may see it in others. So I'm not sure if we're going to see a small bump in those cases. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a little bit of a bump, but we seem to be starting the back end of the season. It looks like we've probably gone past the peak of the season, but flu season can be unpredictable."

She says flu activity is also something that is not directly tracked.

"We don't get reports of individual cases of influenza, but pharmacies and stuff keep track of prescribing practices," said Dr. Tandy. "But sometimes, it's always a little tricky because sometimes people get prescribed, not the correct medicine. And it could be the flu, but maybe not. And so it's a little hard to use those. That's why we try to use these indicators of like, 'Okay, people are visiting the doctor with fever and respiratory symptoms.' That way, we're not only thinking about flu, but we're thinking about all the other stuff that is going around. And so we'd like to keep an eye on that level of activity rather than those specific indicators."

She also said she can't say for certain if there is a link between high flu activity and low vaccination rates, but those who do get vaccinated have a lower risk of severe illness.

"In really severe respiratory seasons when we're about middle of the season, when people are getting more sick, we're seeing more cases. I think that kind of prompts some people to say, 'You know what? I will get vaccinated,'" she said.

Dr. Tandy also said although the peak of flu season is coming to an end, it is still not too late to get a flu shot. Flu season usually ends in late March or April.

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It's not too late to get your flu shot, according to a Tennessee health expert - WBIR.com