Holiday gamble: Is it too late to get a COVID booster, flu shot?
SACRAMENTO -- With days before Christmas, and the holiday season well underway, flu cases are higher this year compared to the last two years. Health experts say the number of people who have received their flu shot is lower.
There are a few reasons doctors and pharmacists believe flu shots and even COVID booster numbers are lower right now. One of those, is vaccine fatigue. Pharmacist Sonya Frausto at Ten Acres Pharmacy told CBS13 many are tired from multiple COVID vaccines in the last two years and may put less emphasis on flu shots.
Another reason, she said, is information overload. Since the pandemic began, information about vaccines and safe practices in group settings have evolved and Frausto said at this point, many are exhausted with the amount of information.
"What should I get, when should I get it, who should I get it from? Where should I get a flu shot?" Frausto said, using questions she's been asked by patients herself to demonstrate the nature of the potential confusion.
"Seventy-three percent of Californians have got their primary series, but that's not good enough. You need that update booster, and not even 20% of Californians who are eligible have got that," said Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, Chief Equity Officer for the California Department of Public Health.
Pandemic-level numbers related to flu were lower because masks were mandated still and people were not gathering in the same way they are now, according to health experts. Radhakrishna said that not only helped the COVID rates but also the flu and RSV rates, too.