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Chicago flu cases begin climbing in October as city offers free vaccinations
Flu activity remains low in Illinois but is trending upward, and Chicago health officials say levels are already slightly above the same point in each of the past five years. Doctors urge residents to get vaccinated now, even though a mutation in the circulating H1N1 strain may limit how closely this season’s shot matches the virus.
Chicago-area doctors are urging residents to get a flu shot as cases appear earlier than usual, with health officials reporting low but rising activity across Illinois and in the city.
Dr. Nadia Qureshi, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Loyola University Medical Center, said flu cases typically begin increasing in November and are more common in December. This year, doctors are seeing cases in October, she said.
Qureshi said a mutation in the season’s primary H1N1 strain may help the virus evade existing immunity and contribute to the early increase. The flu vaccine was developed before the mutation was identified, so it may not be a perfect match, she said. But vaccination can still help reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported the highest flu activity on the West Coast. Illinois Department of Public Health data shows levels in the state remain low, though they are moving upward.
In Chicago, flu activity is also low but slightly higher than at the same point in each of the past five years, said Dr. Alex Sloboda, medical director and deputy commissioner of emergency preparedness and immunization at the Chicago Department of Public Health.
The department has begun offering free flu and COVID-19 vaccinations regardless of insurance status. Residents can get shots at CDPH clinics, including a clinic scheduled for Saturday at the Arturo Velazquez Institute in the Lower West Side.
Sloboda advised people not to put off vaccination, saying case numbers are expected to rise sooner than they usually do. The city is also encouraging measles vaccination and monitoring possible exposures. One exposure was reported at O’Hare International Airport on Oct. 15 involving a DuPage County resident; most measles cases in Illinois have been downstate, according to the report.