We’re gearing up for flu season. As more of our clients start to book their corporate flu clinics, you might see more events coming through your email.

That being said, are you ready for flu season?

Whether good or bad, the fact is that most people’s questions and concerns about flu shots are based on past experiences, rather than organized research. As you start to sign up for flu events, keep that in the back of your mind when interacting with participants.

In case your memory is failing you, here’s a quick recap of what we saw during the last flu season. Use this information to relate to participants, understand where they’re coming from, and get questions answered respectfully.

The Vaccine

Early each year, experts predict the strains of flu virus that will circulate that fall. They must make their predictions early so manufacturers can have enough flu vaccine made by the time the flu starts spreading. The problem with the early prediction, however, is that the flu virus can mutate.

That was the case last year. The predominate flu strain was a mismatched H3N2 virus. This means that the H3N2 virus the vaccine covered isn’t what people were contracting, which provided for a lower effectiveness. While there were quite a few more cases of the flu than usual, people who got the vaccine likely had less severe symptoms, even if they contracted the mismatched strain.

Overall, 151-156 million doses of the flu vaccine were made by seven different manufacturers. Of these doses, 76 million were quadrivalent, meaning they protect against four different flu strains. The rest were trivalent, which protect against three different flu strains.

The Numbers

Even though a large number of flu vaccine was made, we unfortunately still have flu virus statistics to report. It’s difficult to gauge the true number of people who suffered from the flu, though, because not everyone seeks treatment. The numbers are usually presented in hospitalizations rather than cases.

The two populations at greatest risk for the flu are the elderly and young children. Unfortunately, these populations also usually fare worse in H3N2 predominate flu seasons.

Last year, nearly 60% of flu hospitalizations were people over 65 years old. This is the highest number of hospitalizations in this age group since the CDC started recording the numbers in 2005. According to the CDC, 266.1 out of 100,000 population in this age group were hospitalized for the flu.

Children were the next largest population to be hospitalized, but the number was actually less than the last H3N2 predominate season. Of 100,000 population of children, 47.8 were hospitalized for the flu.

The Timing

The definition of flu season relies on these reported cases of the virus. While it is typical to see a flu epidemic every year, flu season can start as early as October and go as late as May. It all depends on when we start to see spikes in the number of cases reported.

Last year, we began to see an increase in flu cases in November. The number of cases remained elevated through February. The peak of the 2014-15 flu season occurred between December and January (week 52-week 1). This is a typical time for a flu season peak.

Coming off a year a low effectiveness, it’s especially important to know exactly what went down. Keep these things in mind from flu season 2014-15 as you dive into working flu events this year. Always remember to be knowledgeable, be respectful and answer participant questions to the best of your ability.

Do you have any questions about the specifics of the last flu season?