Flu, COVID vaccination rates hit concerning lows

Josh Hinke | December 24, 2025

Cook County health officials are concerned about low influenza and COVID-19 vaccination rates as flu season intensifies, with cases filling clinic waiting rooms and hospital beds.

The county reports a fully vaccinated rate of 19.6% among residents. While that is higher than the statewide rate of 10.8%, it represents a decade-long low for Cook County.

“When we look at flu specifically, the public health system has these goals that they set — they’re called Healthy People goals,” Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager told WTIP. “By 2030, the goal is that 70% of people are up to date on their flu shot each year. We’re not even at 20%, so we have a long way to go.”

Health officials across Minnesota are also raising concerns as influenza activity increases statewide.

“Respiratory disease activity has been increasing across the state in recent weeks. This has been particularly true for flu with flu hospitalizations having more than doubled since Thanksgiving,” the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) said in a recent press release.

MDH reported increases across all tracked influenza indicators this season. There have been 558 flu-related hospitalizations, a more than 30% increase from the same point last year. The department also has reported 35 school outbreaks, also up about 30% year over year.

MDH recommends the following vaccinations for the 2025–26 respiratory illness season:

Flu – Everyone 6 months of age and older is recommended to get a flu vaccine each year.
COVID-19 – Everyone 6 months of age and older can get the updated COVID-19 vaccine. It is especially important for people who are under 2 years of age, pregnant, 65 years and older, or have a health condition that puts them at higher risk for getting very sick.
RSV – Infants, pregnant people and older adults are recommended to receive an RSV immunization if they have not received it before.

Grinager encouraged people who are unsure about vaccine safety or whether vaccination is appropriate for them to talk directly with a trusted health care provider.

“When we talk about vaccines, and we talk about recommendations around vaccines. What we’re doing is we’re looking at evidence,” Grinager said. “We’re looking at scientific studies over the course of years and decades. In the case of influenza, vaccines have been around for a very long time.”

According to MDH, infants and young children are among those most at risk of becoming seriously ill from flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Others at higher risk include adults 65 and older, pregnant people, and those with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease or weakened immune systems.

While people in good health may not consider themselves at risk for severe respiratory illness, health officials say vaccination remains important.

“Even if you’re a young, healthy adult and you don’t think that you’re at a particularly high risk, being at lower risk doesn’t mean you’re at no risk,” Grinager said. Even young, healthy people can end up needing medical care.

Residents seeking influenza or COVID-19 vaccinations can contact Sawtooth Mountain Clinic to schedule an appointment.

WTIP spoke with Grace Grinager about vaccinations in Cook County and the coming flu season. You can find the audio of that conversation below