The COVID-19 pandemic may be over but the Centers for Disease Control and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases said this week the COVID-19 virus and the flu virus and the RSV virus are still around.
But a nationwide survey found that only two in five U.S. adults say they will definitely get a flu shot, and only one in four say they'll get the updated COVID vaccine.
The CDC says interest in vaccination is even lower this season than last year despite there having been a half million people who were hospitalized with the flu and 25,000 people who died from it, along with the 75,000 deaths from COVID-19 in 2023.
The officials say they’re especially worried that Americans who are at greater risk won’t get the vaccinations. Last year, fewer than half of adults with a chronic health condition got the flu vaccine..
They say that it appears that catching the flu is the best way to make one want the flu vaccine. Among adults who were diagnosed with the flu in the last two years, nearly 72% say they will likely get the flu shot this season.
But at the same time, many people who don't plan to get vaccinated say they're worried about potential side effects or say they don’t trust the vaccines.
And maybe that’s what happens when vaccines become politicized, just like everything else it seems.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: Getty Images