Though influenza activity in the Chattanooga region is low, 193 people rolled up their sleeves to receive their flu shot in Hamilton County on Wednesday as part of the annual statewide "Fight Flu" campaign.
This year's event saw a more than 50% increase in flu shots given compared to last year's Fight Flu day, which offers free flu shots through health departments across Tennessee in anticipation of flu transmission increasing into the fall and winter. Hamilton County Health Department workers vaccinated 122 people last year, according to department officials.
Sharon Goforth, special projects supervisor for the Health Department, was drawing up shots and had already vaccinated 31 people in just over an hour of service at La Paz Chattanooga — one of three pop-up clinic sites across the county. Free flu shots were also provided at the Health Department's four permanent locations.
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Historically, flu season peaks in late January and early February in the Chattanooga region, Goforth said, but each flu season since the pandemic has proved less predictable than prior years.
"There have been years when it has bumped up sooner, but historically, that's what we're usually looking at," she said, adding that it's difficult to say if this season will represent a return to historical trends.
"Let's hope that we get more people vaccinated and we keep those numbers low all year," Goforth said.
Maegan Kerr, emergency response coordinator for the Health Department, said she believes staff members were able to vaccinate more people this year due to earlier and broader promotion of the event and offering shots for children 6 months and older instead of just adults. Health Department officials also opted to provide vaccinations at numerous sites across the county as opposed to a single drive-through location, she said.
"We just really wanted to take a different approach this year to see if we can access more people," Kerr said.
Last year's flu season struck early and aggressively, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranking Tennessee among the states with the highest flu activity in early November 2022.
Influenza-like illness reports in Chattanooga peaked in late October 2022 but decreased rapidly by December, resulting in a mild flu season overall when compared to pre-pandemic seasons, according to tracking from the Hamilton County Health Department.
(READ MORE: A mild US flu season is waning, but is it really over?)
As of the week ending Oct. 21, seasonal influenza activity remained low nationally, with small upticks in transmission reported in some parts of the United States, according to the latest report from the CDC.
The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine, ideally by the end of October. It takes about two weeks for the immune system to mount a response to the vaccine.
Though the vaccines won't prevent every infection, they help teach the body how to fight the virus when exposed, according to Health Department officials.
No COVID-19 shots were available at Wednesday's event. Kerr said that's because Fight Flu is a state-sponsored campaign that focuses solely on influenza, but people who want a COVID-19 shot can get one through the Health Department by appointment.
Contact Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.