Flu deaths rise as anti-vaccine disinformation takes root

​The Context:

The recent surge in influenza-related deaths across the United States, reaching a seven-year high in January and February 2025, has significant implications for communities like Apopka and Orange County. This increase is partly attributed to rising vaccine skepticism and declining vaccination rates. ​

Impact on Apopka and Orange County:

1. Increased Flu Cases and Hospitalizations: Florida has experienced a notable rise in flu cases, with a 75% increase reported over the past month. This surge has led to higher hospitalization rates, particularly affecting children and individuals with underlying health conditions. ​FOX 13 Tampa Bay
2. Strained Healthcare Resources: The uptick in flu-related illnesses has placed additional pressure on local healthcare facilities. Hospitals and clinics in Orange County are managing increased patient loads, which could impact the availability of medical services for other conditions.
3. Public Health Initiatives: In response to the escalating flu activity, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County has organized free flu vaccination events to encourage immunization among residents. Despite these efforts, vaccination rates remain suboptimal, with only 37.6% of Floridians reporting receiving a flu vaccine over a 12-month period in 2023, trailing behind the national average of 42.9%. ​ocfl.netSarasota Herald-Tribune
4. Community Outreach and Education: To combat vaccine hesitancy, local health authorities are intensifying educational campaigns to inform the public about the safety and efficacy of flu vaccines. These initiatives aim to dispel myths and encourage higher vaccination uptake to mitigate the spread of influenza.​

In summary, the rise in flu-related deaths underscores the critical need for increased vaccination efforts and public health interventions in Apopka and Orange County to protect residents and alleviate healthcare system burdens.​

Tim Henderson of Florida Phoenix writes (below) about the rise in flu-related deaths in the US.

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As vaccine skepticism gains a greater foothold in the Trump administration and some statehouses, some Americans may already be paying the price, with deaths from influenza on the rise.

Flu-related deaths hit a seven-year high in January and February, the two months that usually account for the height of flu season, according to a Stateline analysis of preliminary federal statistics. There were about 9,800 deaths across the country, up from 5,000 in the same period last year and the most since 2018, when there were about 10,800.

Despite that, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has canceled or postponed meetings to prepare for next fall’s flu vaccine, when experts talk about what influenza strains they expect they’ll be battling.

The cancellations raised protests from medical professionals and state and federal officials. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said in a statement that her state is having its worst flu season in at least 15 years, with more deaths from flu and other causes as the state’s health care system struggles under the strain of flu patients.

Some experts say putting off vaccine planning will only feed false narratives that discourage lifesaving vaccinations.

“These delays not only weaken pandemic preparedness but also undermine public confidence in vaccination efforts,” said Dr. Akram Khan, an Oregon pulmonologist and associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University who has studied attitudes toward vaccines.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has expressed doubt about the need for vaccines, including flu vaccines, despite evidence that they reduce deaths and hospitalizations.

Deaths fluctuate naturally from year to year depending on the severity of current flu strains and the effectiveness of that year’s vaccines. But some see a hesitancy to use any vaccine, fed by misinformation and political mistrust of government, already taking a toll on lives.

“It’s been a bad winter for viral respiratory infections, not just in the United States but across the Northern Hemisphere,” said Mark Doherty, a vaccine scholar and former manager for GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, a vaccine manufacturer.

“The U.S. does appear to be hit a bit harder, and it’s possible lower vaccination coverage is contributing to that,” Doherty said.

Flu vaccine distribution in the United States has been declining in recent years, and as of the first week of 2025 was down 16% from 2022, according to federal statistics.

The flu was a factor in 9,800 deaths in January and February, according to the analysis, using provisional data collected by states and compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Florida hard hit

The highest death rates were in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Kentucky, all at about four deaths per 100,000 population so far this year. Some counties in Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as Oklahoma and Kentucky, were even higher — at about six deaths per 100,000.

The highest rates have been among older people. Statistics show the deaths hit white people and American Indians especially hard.

Tragedies are happening across the country to people of all ages and races, however. A 43-year-old Indiana father died after a brief bout of the flu, according to family members. After two 10-year-olds died in Prince George’s County, Maryland, area schools drew crowds to vaccine clinics.

Doug Sides, a pastor at Yulee Baptist Church in northern Florida, has held funerals for three congregation members who died from flu — all within one month, all of them over 70 years old. That compares with only one victim of COVID-19 from his congregation during the pandemic, he said.

“Flu death is a reality,” Sides told Stateline on a phone call from a Jacksonville hospital, where he was visiting another 84-year-old congregation member who was rescued from her home with severe pneumonia from an unknown cause.

“I encourage my church members to keep their hands clean, use hand sanitizer, and to stay home if they’re feeling sick,” he said. He said he hasn’t personally gotten a flu vaccine recently because he gets conflicting advice about it — some doctors tell him to avoid them because he and some family members have cancer, while another “rides me all the time about getting a flu shot.”

“We’re all getting conflicting advice. We’re living in strange-o times,” he said. (The American Cancer Society says vaccination for people with cancer may or may not be recommended depending on individual circumstances.)

Warnings

Many states are relaxing vaccine requirements as public skepticism rises. But many are taking action to warn residents and reassure them that vaccinations are safe and can help prevent deaths, despite misinformation to the contrary.

Burlington County, New Jersey, has had the highest flu-associated death rate of any county this year, according to the analysis, with 31 deaths among fewer than 500,000 people. The county held 30 free vaccine clinics from September to January, then extended them into February because of the severity of the flu season, said Dave Levinsky, a spokesperson for the county health department.

In Oklahoma, death rates are highest in the eastern part of the state where the Cherokee Nation is centered. A state publicity campaign stresses that flu shots are safe, effective, and free at many community health centers. However, vaccination rates in the state are low compared with other states as of December, according to federal statistics: Only about 16% of Oklahoma residents had gotten flu vaccinations by then. Rates were even lower in Louisiana (just under 16%), Mississippi (12%), and Texas (10%).

States with the highest flu vaccination rates by December were Maine (37%), Connecticut, and Vermont (33%), and Wisconsin and Minnesota (31%). But even those were down since 2022.

People have become less likely to get vaccinated in recent years, a phenomenon researchers call “vaccine hesitancy.”