Wisconsin is seeing among its worst flu seasons of the past decade. Here's why
As of Feb. 8, every region of the state was experiencing "very high" levels of influenza activity, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. So far this flu season, nearly 3,800 people in Wisconsin have been hospitalized from the flu, compared to just over 2,100 during the same period last year, according to a DHS report released Friday. In the last week alone, the state logged a record 895 flu hospitalizations, a DHS spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel.
Wisconsin's particularly acute flu season follows a nationwide trend, as flu cases in the U.S. hit a 15-year high last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced. Lagging vaccination rates, more severe strains of the virus and holiday travel are all to blame for the record spread, experts say.
"We're right in the midst of it. There's no glimmer at this point whatsoever that it's starting to go down," said Dr. James Conway, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Global Health Institute.
Here's what to know about influenza in Wisconsin, including how and where you can get vaccinated.
Though experts say it's hard to pin down a precise reason why this flu season has been particularly bad, there are a few contributing factors: less people are getting flu shots, an especially severe strain of the flu is circulating this year, and people who didn't get the flu during the COVID-19 pandemic are getting it now.
The past month has been especially severe for flu spread in Wisconsin and nationwide. Between Feb. 3 to 9, the UW Health system saw 55 flu hospitalizations — its highest weekly total in three years, a UW Health spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel.
"That combination of low vaccination rates, low amount of carryover immunity from previous seasons, and then record holiday travel was sort of the perfect storm," Conway said.
Nationwide, the H1N1 and H3N2 strains of Influenza A were the dominant viruses reported last week, according to the CDC. Both viruses have caused more severe flu seasons in the past, with H1N1 leading to a flu pandemic in 2009.
In terms of vaccination, just 33% of Wisconsin residents have received a flu shot so far this season, according to DHS data. Among children under 4 years old, a little over 32% have received a flu vaccine, compared to nearly 50% in the 2020-21 flu season, the data show.
With a late start to the flu season this year, Conway said there's still "plenty to be gained" for people who get vaccinated in coming weeks. This year's version of the flu vaccine is well-suited to fight off H1N1 influenza and Influenza B, the latter of which will likely circulate from late March to April, he said.
More children in Wisconsin are needing hospitalization from the flu this year, though not many of these cases have led to serious complications, according to Dr. Michael Meyer, medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at Children's Wisconsin.
"There are more children in the hospital who are here with influenza that need additional medical help than what you find just out in the community," Meyer said. "But when it comes to actual severe disease, where they would need to be in the intensive care unit, that number is about normal for us."
In the week ending on Feb. 8, more than 17% of children under 4 years old who visited emergency departments in Wisconsin were diagnosed with the flu, up from 1% in early December, according to statewide data published by DHS. At Children's Wisconsin, about 25 kids were hospitalized with influenza last week, compared to 13 at the same time last year, a hospital spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel.
In mid-January, the state reported a child had died from the flu for the first time this flu season, followed by a second pediatric death during the week ending in Feb. 1.
While the first child who died in Wisconsin had underlying medical issues that could have contributed to flu complications, the second did not, DHS Respiratory Disease Epidemiologist Tom Haupt told the Journal Sentinel in an email. Several pediatric patients in Wisconsin have also developed Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy, a rare complication of influenza that can cause severe brain inflammation, he said.
With winter being a peak illness time for children, Meyer said he recommends families keep up strong hygiene practices, especially regular handwashing, and get vaccinated.
"If I had a crystal ball, I'd anticipate that we probably will still see a high amount of infections for the next couple of weeks, and then it'll start to tail off from there," he added.
Milwaukee, like the rest of the state, is seeing high influenza activity and a jump in hospitalizations from the flu.
So far this flu season, Milwaukee has logged 428 hospitalizations associated with the flu, compared to 320 at the same time last year, according to Lindsey Page, infectious disease program director at the Milwaukee Health Department.
"We're seeing hospitalizations across all age groups," Page said.
The flu vaccination rate in Milwaukee also falls below the state level, with only about 20% of the city's residents receiving at least one flu shot this year. That's down from 24% and 22% during the past two flu seasons in Milwaukee.
"It's certainly not too late to get the flu vaccine," Page added. "There's a potential for this to continue for at least another month or two."
More: Flu cases are high in Wisconsin. What's the difference between flu A and flu B?
You can get flu shots through your health care provider or at a local pharmacy. Flu vaccines are free through almost every health insurance plan, and vaccines.gov locates pharmacies near you that are offering vaccines. Wisconsin residents can also dial 211 or 877-947-2211 for help scheduling a vaccine appointment.
For uninsured children and adults, Wisconsin's Vaccines for Adults and Vaccines for Children programs offer free flu and COVID-19 shots statewide. You can use the DHS's online locator to find a free adult vaccination clinic near you or a free child vaccination clinic.
The Milwaukee Health Department also has three, walk-in immunization clinics across the city, where anyone older than 6 months, regardless of insurance status, can get free flu vaccines. Find clinic locations and hours here.
To protect against respiratory viruses, DHS recommends:
Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
Avoiding touching the nose, eyes and mouth.
Staying home and away from others when feeling sick.
Avoiding being around others who are sick.
Covering the nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing and encouraging children to do the same.
Wearing a high-quality mask around others.
Sarah Volpenhein contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why is the flu so bad in Wisconsin this year?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Judge orders RFK Jr.'s health department to stop sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials
WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered the nation's health department to stop giving deportation officials access to the personal information — including home addresses — of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first handed over the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees in a handful of states in June. After an Associated Press report identified the new policy, 20 states filed a lawsuit to stop its implementation. In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services entered into a new agreement that gave the Department of Homeland Security daily access to view the personal data — including Social Security numbers and home address — of all the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees. Neither agreement was announced publicly. The extraordinary disclosure of such personal health data to deportation officials in the Trump administration's far-reaching immigration crackdown immediately prompted the lawsuit over privacy concerns. The Medicaid data sharing is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to provide DHS with more data on migrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the U.S. The order, issued by federal Judge Vince Chhabria in California, temporarily halts the health department from sharing personal data of enrollees in those 20 states, which include California, Arizona, Washington and New York. 'Using CMS data for immigration enforcement threatens to significantly disrupt the operation of Medicaid—a program that Congress has deemed critical for the provision of health coverage to the nation's most vulnerable residents,' Chhabria wrote in his decision, issued on Tuesday. Chhabria, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said that the order will remain in effect until the health department outlines 'reasoned decisionmaking' for its new policy of sharing data with deportation officials. A spokesperson for the federal health department declined to directly answer whether the agency would stop sharing its data with DHS. HHS has maintained that its agreement with DHS is legal. Immigrants who are not living in the U.S. legally, as well as some lawfully present immigrants, are not allowed to enroll in the Medicaid program that provides nearly free coverage for health services. But federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Medicaid is a jointly funded program between states and the federal government. Immigration advocates have said the disclosure of personal data could cause alarm among people seeking emergency medical help for themselves or their children. Other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration have made schools, churches, courthouses and other everyday places feel perilous to immigrants and even U.S. citizens who fear getting caught up in a raid. 'Protecting people's private health information is vitally important,' Washington state's Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. 'And everyone should be able to seek medical care without fear of what the federal government may do with that information.' Seitz and Kindy write for the Associated Press.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
'How do we get down?' RFK Jr., Dr. Oz climb boulder in video stunt
A video of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Medicare administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz climbing a large rock and hiking through Colorado's Garden of the Gods has been circulating online. In the three-and-a-half-minute-long video posted Wednesday, Aug. 13, on Kennedy's official HHS X page, he and Oz are seen at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In a separate X post on Kennedy's personal page, the secretary wrote that he and Oz went hiking during a break between their speeches at the National Governors Conference, which took place July 25-26. Kennedy speaks in the public service announcement video about how daily hiking has benefitted his life, improving his focus, clarity and creativity. He says that hiking also exposes him to "sunlight," which he calls "medicine" since it is a source of vitamin D. "Fifteen minutes outside can change your day − and your life. It sharpens your mind, strengthens your body, and restores the connection so many of us have lost − to each other, to nature, and to ourselves," Kennedy wrote in the post. "Thanks @DrOzCMS for joining me on this hike." Aa around the two-minute and 30-second mark in the video, Kennedy says, "We got to go, this mountain is not going to climb itself." As the video cuts to Kennedy, 71, climbing the mountain, he appears wobbly as he pulls himself up onto a boulder. Oz, 65, follows behind him and appears to need Kennedy's assistance to reach the boulder. "So how do we get down?" Oz says in the video, before sliding back down with Kennedy. Fifteen minutes outside can change your day — and your sharpens your mind, strengthens your body, and restores the connection so many of us have lost — to each other, to nature, and to @DrOzCMS for joining me on this hike. The internet reacts Some naturally poked fun at the video, calling it an "SNL skit" or mocking it as cringe. Others mocked Kennedy's jeans, which he'd also worn during a July hike in sweltering Arizona in an image shared publicly, much to the amusement of social media. Supporters echoed Kennedy and Oz's message about getting outside and encouraged others to go on walks. Since being appointed as HHS secretary by President Donald Trump, Kennedy has faced criticism over changes in COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people, as well as his cuts to vaccine programs. He has been an advocate for natural medical and health methods, including improving food quality by eliminating certain dyes and additives. Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@
NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
HHS revives task force on childhood vaccine safety
A long-shuttered federal task force on childhood vaccine safety is being revived, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. HHS said in a statement that it is reinstating the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, which disbanded in 1998, 'to improve the safety, quality, and oversight of vaccines administered to American children.' Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, will be chairman. Other members of the task force will include Susan Monarez, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson. Nixon said additional members will be announced in the future. Dr. Howard Koh, a public health professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said: 'Everyone wants childhood vaccines to be as safe as possible. But reviving this panel now must be put in the context of recent HHS actions.' Many public health experts have accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of pursuing an aggressive anti-vaccine agenda as health secretary. Since he assumed office in February, he has cut $2 billion from a program that supports vaccines for vulnerable children, downplayed the importance of measles vaccines amid a record-breaking outbreak and cut $500 million in contracts for mRNA vaccine research. In June, Kennedy fired members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — medical and public health experts who make recommendations to the CDC about who should get certain vaccines — and replaced them with well-known vaccine skeptics or critics of Covid vaccines. The new committee chair, Martin Kulldorff, said the committee will form two work groups, one to scrutinize the childhood vaccination schedule and another to re-evaluate vaccines that haven't been reviewed in more than seven years. The Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines was formed in 1986 as part of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which aimed to compensate the small number of children who had adverse reactions to vaccines and address growing threats of litigation over vaccine injuries. A lawsuit filed in May claims Kennedy violated the 1986 act by failing to establish a task force dedicated to making childhood vaccines safer. The suit is funded by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group Kennedy founded. Mary Holland, the group's CEO, praised Kennedy on Thursday for fulfilling his obligation. 'At last the Secretary is following the law on this critical issue. We are grateful,' Holland said in a statement on X. The task force will work closely with the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines, which provides recommendations to the HHS secretary about how to implement a national compensation program for childhood vaccine injuries. According to HHS, the groups will give regular advice about how to improve adverse reaction reporting and develop childhood vaccines that result in fewer and less serious adverse reactions. Vaccine injuries are extremely rare, and the United States has robust systems for detecting adverse reactions, including the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, Vaccine Safety Datalink and V-safe. Before vaccines ever reach the market, clinical trials look for safety concerns and pause if any major issues arise. Then independent advisory committees to the FDA and the CDC evaluate the safety data and issue recommendations about which vaccines to approve and who should get them. But Kennedy has repeatedly said the federal government isn't doing enough to monitor for vaccine side effects. 'At least once a week, he comes up with a new zinger seeking to discredit vaccines, and it's very dangerous,' said Dr. Peter Hotez, a co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Hotez said it's unclear why Kennedy would revive a task force on childhood vaccine safety, given that the current system has a proven track record of picking up on rare adverse events. 'What's the point now, other than he'll use it as a bully pulpit to push his MAHA, anti-vaccine agenda? That's the worry,' Hotez said. 'Who's he going to put on this committee?' he added. 'Will it be like ACIP, where he starts to stack it with anti-vaccine activists?'
