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Flu season is here, and with it comes the reminders to get vaccinated and the drives to the pharmacy to get that shot.
Officials are also estimating a bad flu season ahead for the nation. But some people aren’t getting vaccinated, be it from choice, finances or lack of transportation.
Arizona is the sixth-least vaccinated state in the U.S., according to the report.
Among the most critical areas of concern, Arizona ranks 41st in influenza vaccination rate in children 6 months to 17 years. Most of today’s debate centers on whether students in K-12 schools need to be vaccinated to attend. In Arizona, officials have been back and forth over whether exemptions should be in place over a child’s vaccinations.
“There are severe consequences of people not getting their vaccines,” said Brandon Brown, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside. “Any child who is not vaccinated poses a risk to other children even if those children are vaccinated, since no vaccine is 100% effective."
In May 2018, Gov. Doug Ducey said he wouldn’t support eliminating the ability of parents to claim a personal exemption for their children from vaccines despite a published study showing the Maricopa County is among the nation’s counties with the highest risk for a measles epidemic.
“Ultimately, decisions are going to be left to parents,” he said last year. “But there are things we can do in terms of public policy to incent that.”
He insisted Arizona has been “pretty good” at using education to encourage vaccinations.
But numbers from State Health Director Cara Christ told a different story. Her agency reported the percentage of kindergartners who claim a “personal belief exemption” from one or more vaccines increased from 1.4% in 2000 to 5.4% in 2017. And as of May 2018, the exemption level was at 5.9%.
Also last year, the Lancet Infectious Disease journal said Maricopa County is one of 25 in the entire country where there is the greatest chance of an outbreak.
That journal was at the center of a 1998 study regarding the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. But for 12 years, thousands of parents had been led to believe there was a link between the MMR vaccines and autisms. However, after finding inconsistencies and licensing violations, The Lancet retracted the study.
“I think a lot of families were looking for a reason, so they were extremely vulnerable (to this explanation),” Jeanette Holden, a geneticist at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario stated in a report in 2010.
According a report from the World Health Organization, vaccines prevented at least 10 million deaths worldwide between 2010 and 2015. A similar study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found vaccines prevented 732,000 deaths in the U.S. between 1994 and 2013. They also as eliminated $1.38 trillion in total societal costs that those diseases would have caused.
According to the WHO, “so few deaths can plausibly be attributed to vaccines that it is hard to assess the risk statistically.”
In WalletHub’s report, Arizona ranks 40th in share of adults with tetanus vaccination and 38th in flu vaccination coverage rate among adults.
Among today’s youth, Arizona is 28th in share of teenagers 13-17 with up-to-date HPV vaccination and 18th in share of teenagers 13-17 with men ACWY vaccination.
Some universities in Arizona are challenging its students to get the flu vaccines.
The Arizona Partnership for Immunization and the Arizona Department of Health Services launched the first annual University Flu Shot Challenge with Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona (Daily Independent, Oct. 2, 2019, page 8). The challenge runs through January, with the purpose of increasing flu vaccination rates in Arizonans with a focus on college students.
The campaign incorporates education materials and social media messaging to college students. Student health centers are offering free flu vaccines for students and the number of vaccinations given at each university during the competition will be tracked.
“Getting a flu shot every year is the most effective way to protect yourself from the disease, and I encourage students at all colleges and universities in the state to get vaccinated right away,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. “While the competition between the universities is a fun way to bring attention to the issue, there is nothing fun about getting the flu.”
Among the senior community, Arizona is 23 in share of adults 60 and older with zoster vaccination, which is used to prevent shingles. The Herpes zoster vaccination was determined by asking respondents 50 and older if they had ever received a shingles or zoster vaccine. Herpes zoster vaccination is recommended for all adults 60 and older.
In September, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health celebrated National Preparedness Month with its 11th annual multicultural emergency preparedness expo, offering uninsured adults free flu vaccines.
During the summer, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the Maricopa County Correctional Health Services, and the Maricopa County Department of Public Health teamed up to tackle the societal impact of the recent Hepatitis A outbreak.
MCSO and its partner agencies have been offering vaccine to every person booked into jail facilities who have not already been vaccinated. In a release, Sheriff Paul Penzone stated 4,287 vaccinations were administered as of Aug. 6 for 2019.
“By focusing efforts on the jail population, we are vaccinating those patients who are at highest risk for acquiring the virus and for spreading the virus within the community when they leave jail,” said Grant Philips, Medical Director, Maricopa County Correctional Health Services.
Arizona, along with many other states, is currently experiencing a statewide outbreak of hepatitis A, affecting eight counties. There have been more than 350 cases, primarily among at-risk individuals, which includes illicit drug users, people experiencing homelessness or unstable housing, and those who have been recently incarcerated. Some 80% of cases have been hospitalized.
Hepatitis A is highly contagious and spreads when a person unknowingly ingests the virus from objects, food, or drinks contaminated by microscopic amounts of stool from an infected person. Hepatitis A can also spread from close personal contact with an infected person such as through sex or caring for someone who is ill. People who are infected can spread the virus for about three weeks before and after symptoms appear.
The disease is treated with rest, fluids and adequate nutrition and can last several weeks to months. The average timeframe between exposure to the virus and the appearance of symptoms is 25-30 days.
Symptoms include fever; nausea and vomiting; abdominal pain; and yellowing of the skin and eyes. However, some people with hepatitis A do not have symptoms.
“We know from the experience of other communities with hepatitis A outbreaks, like San Diego, that vaccinating people at the highest risk of infection will stop the outbreak most efficiently,” said Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, medical director for disease control at Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
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