Illinois sees its worst flu season in recent years as vaccine skepticism grows

Getting a vaccine against the flu is still the best way to guard against the illness, health officials say. (Medill Illinois News Bureau by Sam Freeman)

CHICAGO — 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.

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 the state reached such high numbers of cases.

The public health department reported that for the week of Jan. 11-17, on average, 3% of all emergency department visits and 2.1% of hospital admissions were for the flu. The IDPH does not report a total number of cases. Additionally, 16.9% of flu tests, or 2,963 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, Metro East, Peoria and Champaign. Additionally, the CDC reports that 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 that 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 Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies.

A significant portion of Kennedy’s agenda has involved a large-scale overhaul and change to vaccine schedules and standards. Kennedy has said he considers himself a long-time vaccine skeptic and hopes to restore public trust in vaccines through his changes. The most notable change so far has been the overhaul of the recommended vaccine schedule for children. Previously, federal standards recommended 18 vaccines for children, including the COVID-19 vaccine. The new standard cuts the recommended number of vaccines to 11.

However, Illinois state legislators recently responded to these changes by passing House Bill 767, which was signed into law in early December. The bill allows Illinois to issue state-specific standards. State Sen. Dave Koehler, D-Peoria, a sponsor of the bill, said the changes look very similar to the standards Illinois had before Kennedy took office and initiated his new protocol.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made a mockery of all that DHS should stand for,” Koehler said. “When the federal government fails, we as a state have to fill in the gaps and make sure that people have the right kind of information. We show that government actually cares and wants to provide them scientifically sound information.”

Koehler advised Illinoisans not to turn to the internet or to the federal government, but to listen to one’s own trusted doctor for medical advice.

“(House Bill 767) was the governor and the legislature’s attempt to say, ‘Look, we need to have the professionals, the doctors, the people who actually understand this stuff provide the public with information that is sound and that people want,’” Koehler said.

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.

“Once you get a virus, while there are antiviral medications … they’re not as great as boosting up your immune system ahead of time through giving your immune system practice, and that is what a vaccine is — your immune system getting some training on how to respond,” Heald-Sargent said.

Olivia Ardito is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications, and is a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.