A harsh flu season in Australia could be a warning, but so far only 12% vaccinated in Wisconsin

With influenza season a little more than a month away, just 12% of Wisconsin residents have received their vaccination, a concern to public health officials who have been keeping an anxious eye on Australia's record-breaking flu season.

Australia, which can be a harbinger of flu conditions in the northern hemisphere, has recorded almost 300,000 confirmed cases and 812 deaths this season.

“Now is the time to get the shot,” said Amy Goza, a nurse and infection preventionist at Children’s Wisconsin. “The body needs some time to develop immunity from the flu vaccine.”

Mary Beth Graham, associate chief of infectious disease at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, recommended people get the vaccination before the Thanksgiving holiday when families get together and record numbers of travelers pass through airports, some carrying infectious diseases.

“It’s a sad reality that people don’t think it’s important,” Graham said of the flu shot. She stressed, “you cannot get influenza from the vaccine.”

The goal is to vaccinate 70% of the population. Last year just 40% of residents got flu shots.

So far 22 Wisconsin residents have been hospitalized with flu since September, leading to three deaths, according to the most recent figures. Both figures are above normal for this time of year.

In the week ending Oct. 12, 1,493 people in Wisconsin were tested for influenza, but only 11 were confirmed as having flu. 

“The concern is that the flu season in Australia was very intense and a month and a half to two months earlier than usual,” said Jonathan Temte, associate dean for public health and community engagement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

“I’m leaving for Australia on Thursday,” Temte added. “I made sure I got my vaccine last week.” 

Robert Amler, dean of New York Medical College’s School of Health Sciences, stressed that trying to predict the flu season remains a challenge.

“The latest summary as published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each week indicates growing flu activity at this relatively early stage in the flu season,” Amler said. “It is not clear at this early stage whether this trend predicts more or less overall impact compared to recent years. Last season was particularly harsh with a significant excess of hospitalizations and deaths from flu over ‘average years.’ ”

The CDC’s most recent report said that seasonal flu activity remains low throughout the country. Only one state, Louisiana, is reporting high levels of influenza-like illness.