How Many Americans Get Flu Shots?

This content leverages data from USAFacts, a non-profit that visualizes governmental data. You can learn more on its website, Facebook, and Twitter.

What’s the story?

• The Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) recommends that all people older than six months without a conflicting health condition get an annual influenza vaccine, preferably in September or October before the flu season begins. 
• Public health officials emphasize that getting a flu shot is especially important during the 2020-2021 flu season to reduce strain on healthcare systems as they address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
• The federal government’s overall goal is for 70% of adults age 18 years and older to receive an annual vaccination for seasonal influenza, but data shows less than half of Americans get an annual flu shot. This USAfacts chart shows the flu vaccination rate by age group, and how children historically get flu shots at higher rates than adults:

• In the 2018-2019 season, 49.2% of people aged six months and older got a flu shot, while 45.3% of people 18 years and older got the vaccination. While that fell well short of the overall goal, the 2018-2019 flu season saw the highest vaccination rate since 2009-2010.
• The USAFacts chart below shows how flu vaccination rates varied between racial and ethnic groups ― 51% of non-Hispanic white people got flu shots in 2018-2019, Hispanics were vaccinated at a 46.4% rate, as did 44.7% of non-Hispanic Black people. 

• There are also geographic variations in flu vaccination rates. States in the Northeast and Great Plains tended to have higher vaccination rates, whereas states in the Mountain West and South generally had lower rates as this USAFacts chart shows: 

• The state with the highest flu vaccination rate in 2018-2019 was Rhode Island at 60.4%, followed by Massachusetts where 58.9% got flu shots. The state with the lowest flu vaccination rate was Nevada at 37.8%, followed by Wyoming at 40.7%.
• According to the CDC, an estimated 4.4 million influenza illnesses were prevented by vaccinations during the 2018-2019 season, including an estimated 58,000 hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths. In years where the vaccine is effectively matched against the season's flu, it reduces the risk of illness between 40% to 60%.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / zoranm)