With respiratory virus season approaching, health experts at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are urging Middle Tennesseans to protect themselves and their families by getting vaccinated against the flu.
VUMC employee vaccinations
For VUMC employees, the Occupational Health Clinic is facilitating multiple influenza vaccination options. “Our team is committed to providing quick and easy options for you and your colleagues to obtain a flu vaccine,” said Ana Nobis, MD, MPH, medical director of the Occupational Health Clinic.
Fight the Flu Vaccination Stations are scheduled at various locations on the Main Campus through September and October.
The Peer Vaccination Program allows departments to vaccinate their teams on-site, and employees on the Main Campus can also visit the Occupational Health Clinic at Medical Arts Building without an appointment.
Employees at VUMC’s three Regional Hospitals should visit their facility’s occupational health nurse. Employees at outlying locations can visit VUMC walk-in clinics.
VUMC employees must meet flu vaccination compliance requirements by Nov. 1.
For more information on employee vaccination, see the Occupational Health Clinic’s Flu Vaccine Program for Employees.
Information about Covid-19 vaccinations will be included in a future article.
Flu can be rampant — and dangerous
“Flu is no fun, and it’s also a life-threatening illness,” said infectious diseases specialist Patty Wright, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Adult Ambulatory Clinics. “Sometimes people say you can still get the flu even if you get the flu shot, which is true, but you’re much less likely to get really sick with the flu if you’re vaccinated.”
The 2024-2025 flu season was sizable. With final estimates due in November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s preliminary 2024-2025 flu in-season disease burden estimates include 610,000 to 1.3 million flu hospitalizations and 27,000 to 130,000 flu deaths.
In the 2024-2025 flu season at Vanderbilt University Hospital and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, 363 adults and 268 children had a positive flu test during or associated with a hospital stay, and deaths among these patients while in these hospitals included eight adults and one child.
Wright emphasized that vaccinated individuals who do contract influenza are less likely to be hospitalized, require intensive care unit care, or die from the infection. This protection extends to both adults and children, with studies showing that vaccinated children experience less severe influenza infections.
Flu season is expected to peak in January or February, making fall the best time for vaccination. Vaccines take approximately two weeks to provide full immunity, and the CDC recommends getting vaccinated by the end of October.
Those at highest risk for severe flu complications include adults over 70, young children, and people with chronic conditions such as lung disease. “If you already have lung problems and get flu on top of it, that can really put you at risk of being in the ICU and needing a ventilator,” Wright said.
