Flu cases are increasing rapidly in Illinois as the state sees its worst flu season in more than 15 years.

At least 100 people have died from the flu this season in Illinois with 77 of those deaths occurring this month alone, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. 

Children and the elderly have been the most-affected age groups. So far, there have been three pediatric fatalities in Illinois this flu season, IDPH reports.

The IDPH reported this month that flu activity in the state has climbed to “very high,” the most severe of five categories of respiratory illness as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2009-10 season was the last time this state reached such high numbers of cases.

The public health department reported that for the week of Jan. 11-17, on average, 3 percent of all emergency department visits and 2.1 percent of hospital admissions were for the flu. The IDPH does not report a total number of cases. Additionally, 16.9 percent of flu tests done in a lab were positive for the flu. There were also 414 ICU admissions across the state for the flu.

The height of flu season is typically from early to mid-February. According to the IDPH, flu outbreaks are specifically growing in West Chicago, Bellwood, Rockford, the Metro East, Peoria and Champaign. Additionally, the CDC reports at least 230,000 people have been hospitalized for the flu nationwide, and the numbers continue to rise.

Dr. Taylor Heald-Sargent, an associate professor at Northwestern University who specializes in the cold and flu, vaccines, and pediatric illnesses, said one reason Illinois is having such a severe flu season is because fewer people are getting vaccinated against the flu.

“We’ve definitely seen just overall vaccination rates decreasing for years,” Heald-Sargent said. “We just keep trying to remind people that vaccines are safe and effective, and they’ve been well-studied. And if you look back over the past century and a half, some of the biggest gains in modern medicine have been because of vaccines.”

Two significant reasons people distrust the flu vaccine are that they may experience flu symptoms after receiving it, and sometimes people still get the flu after receiving the shot, according to Heald-Sargent. Another explanation for these feelings of distrust could be that people often forget the goal of the flu vaccine is to prevent hospitalization – not to build complete and total immunity from the disease.

Vaccines have become a political target instead of being solely a medical issue. Political conversations about vaccines became popularized by a study published by Andrew Wakefield in 1998 that connected the MMR vaccine to autism in children. This study has been proven to be false and has since been retracted from publication. 

Recently, vaccines have reentered the political zeitgeist due to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies.

Previously, federal standards recommended 18 vaccines for children, including the COVID-19 vaccine. The new standard cuts the recommended number of vaccines to 11.

To handle such rapidly spreading diseases like the flu, physicians like Heald-Sargent suggest taking as many precautions as possible: avoid large crowds, stay home when sick, wash your hands well, and talk to your doctor if you get a virus.

(article courtesy of Capitol News Illinois)