Universal Flu Immunization Now

Obviously, a universal recommendation doesn't mean that everyone will be immunized. But, we would be far more likely to achieve herd immunity than with what we do now. We should see fewer hospitalizations in the very old and the very young, the two groups that utilize the greatest amount of health care resources.

We know that the severe complications of influenza—invasive bacterial infections such as empyemas, bacteremias, and meningococcemia—tend to peak during and just after each influenza season because bacterial pathogens more readily invade the mucosa of influenza-damaged respiratory tracts, which are still healing for weeks after the patient's influenza infection has resolved. In a bad influenza season, emergency departments are bombarded with influenza cases and patients with sequelae during January-April. Reducing that enormous utilization of medical resources should be worth every bit of effort we'd put into getting everyone immunized in the fall.