Minorities More Likely to Be Hospitalized With Flu, CDC Says

Each year the flu sends hundreds of thousands of American adults to the hospital, and a new report finds that people of color are much more likely than whites to make those visits.

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Between 2009 and 2022, hospitalization rates were nearly 80 percent higher among Black adults than white adults, a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found. And rates were 30 percent higher among American Indian/Alaska Native adults and 20 percent higher Hispanics, compared to their white counterparts.

The findings, published Oct. 18, come ahead of what some experts are predicting could be a particularly bad year for the flu. After two relatively tame years, thanks in large part to pandemic precautions that helped to cut down on the spread of respiratory illnesses, including influenza, “we might be ripe for a severe season,” Carla Black, a CDC epidemiologist, said during a briefing with reporters.

Flu vaccinations lag, while inequities persist

Health experts say one of the best ways to avoid winding up in the hospital with the flu is to get the annual flu shot. It may not safeguard against any infection, but it can make symptoms less severe if you do catch the bug.

Still, only about half of adults in the U.S. typically roll up their sleeves for the shot, CDC data shows. And flu vaccination coverage has been consistently lower among Black, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native adults in the last several years. Fewer than 43 percent of adults in these groups got the flu shot during the 2021–2022 flu season, compared to 54 percent of white adults.

Explanations for these inequities run the gamut, the report’s authors note. Lack of health insurance and vaccine misinformation play a role — two factors that have also had damaging effects during the COVID-19 pandemic. And “lack of access to culturally competent providers and negative experiences with the health care system are still barriers for many people from certain racial and ethnic minority groups,” Black said.

Even those who have access to health care may be slipping through the cracks. Among adults who reported a recent medical checkup, vaccination coverage was still lower for racial and ethnic minorities than for white adults, Black said. “This suggests that health care providers are missing opportunities during routine medical appointments to vaccinate people from certain groups,” she added.