Health care professionals are recommending vaccinations this holiday season as flu cases rise. In the past three weeks, daily hospitalizations for influenza at Children’s Wisconsin have tripled — growing from one, to three, to nine.
Dr. Dave Margolis is the interim chair of pediatrics at Children’s Wisconsin. He says right now, there’s a perfect storm of three viruses: RSV, influenza and COVID.
"This is impacting our nursing staff, our physician staff, the people that clean the rooms, that people that deliver the food our security teams, Margolis says. "We're all still here for our kids with respiratory illnesses as well as other life-threatening illnesses."
About 30% of people in Wisconsin have received a flu vaccine as of Dec. 1 and 14% of Milwaukee County residents have received a bivalent COVID-19 booster as of Dec. 7, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
"I've been doing this a while, and I have seen children with cancer die of influenza in my career," says Margolis. "When I see the rates of vaccine, and the trends we're seeing in Wisconsin right before Thanksgiving and right now, I'm anxious about the holiday season."
The flu vaccine takes two weeks to effectively prevent the flu. That’s why Karen MacKinnon, a professor with the Medical College of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, says now is the time to get vaccinated. MacKinnon suggests people visit vaccines.gov for more information.
"You go to this website and you can actually pick and choose the vaccine that you want," MacKinnon says. "Then, you can click on book an appointment and it will list all of the locations that you can get this vaccine. A lot of the vaccine locations are going to be at pharmacies."
Pharmacists can immunize with and without a prescription.
"Anyone under the age of three, and over the age of six months would just need to have a prescription, but we can help you get your family vaccinated," she adds.
MacKinnon recommends calling pharmacies for information about walk-in and appointment visits. Milwaukee Health Department vaccine clinics are being held at the Northwest and Southside Health Centers, and Menomonee Valley Drive-Thru. MPS and the Milwaukee Health Department are hosting vaccine clinics at MPS Central Services on Dec. 12 and Dec. 14 from 1 to 4 p.m.
