Many Patients Didn’t Get the Message on Flu Shots; Get Ready to Treat Them

Despite your best efforts—and those of your colleagues, employers, and the entire U.S. healthcare system—and the highest flu-related death toll in decades last year, many adults have no intention of getting a flu shot this year, according to data just released by NORC (formerly known as the National Opinion Research Center) at the University of Chicago. Nearly 41% of adults surveyed hadn’t been immunized as of mid-November and said they weren’t planning to this year. The most common reasons were concern over possible side effects (which are typically mild and very short lived if they occur at all) and fear that the vaccine can give the recipient the flu (an idea that has no merit whatsoever). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says patients who got a flu shot in the past two flu seasons have a 40% lower chance of getting influenza than those who didn’t. That leaves the door wide open for patients who didn’t get a flu shot to become infected. Be prepared. And if you want to ensure you’re prepared, read the cover story in this month’s JUCM. Treating Patients Infected with Influenza Virus in the Urgent Care Setting is also accessible on our website right now.