African Americans Encouraged to Get Flu Shots in October

Medical experts say now that the season is here, expect to hear of more flu deaths, especially among senior citizens and young children.

In the state’s African American community, this is especially important news, given the unique history Blacks and the influenza virus have with each other.

During the 1918 influenza epidemic which spread throughout the nation, Black people were least likely to get the care they needed because of poverty, poor healthcare and racism, according to a 2010 study titled “African-Americans, Public Health, and the 1918 Influenza Epidemic” by Dr. Vanessa Northington Gamble, a medical historian at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

According to the study’s synopsis:

“When the 1918 influenza epidemic began, African American communities were already beset by many public health, medical, and social problems, including racist theories of Black biological inferiority, racial barriers in medicine and public health, and poor health status.

“To address these problems, African Americans mounted efforts such as establishing separate hospitals and professional organizations and repudiating racist scientific theories. Contradicting prevailing theories about African Americans’ increased susceptibility to disease, it appears that during the 1918 epidemic the incidence of influenza was lower in African Americans.

“Although the epidemic had a less devastating impact on African American communities, it still overwhelmed their medical and public health resources. Observations about the lower rates of influenza in African Americans did not derail racist theories about the biological inferiority of Black people or overturn conceptualizations of Black people as disease threats to white people. When the epidemic ended, the major problems that African Americans faced still remained.”

Today, over one hundred years later, poverty, racism and unreliable healthcare in low wealth communities of color still exist, meaning that African Americans and other people of color must be diligent about protecting themselves from catching the influenza virus.

A 2021 study published in 2021 titled, “Rates of Influenza-Associated Hospitalization, Intensive Care Unit Admission, and In-Hospital Death by Race and Ethnicity in the United States From 2009 to 2019” “…took a close look at 113,352 flu hospitalizations between 2009 and 2019 from across the country. Researchers found clear disparities in those hospitalizations…” particularly among children of color.

Black children under five years of age were more than twice as likely to be hospitalized with the flu, according to the report.

So what should Black seniors and Black parents of young children do?

While everyone in our community should make sure they’re inoculated against flu and Covid virus infections, those two groups are particularly advised to plan on getting their vaccination shots as soon as possible for protection, certainly by the end of October when influenza infections may be at their highest, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Last winter, North Carolina was hit with a “superflu” around the same time.

Both shots are generally free at your health provider, various drug store chains and community health centers. Anyone six months of age or older can get a flu shot. Most health insurance plans cover flu vaccinations for those insured.

North Carolina reported 335 flu-related deaths in 2025, including 10 pediatric deaths.

“We encourage everyone to take steps to protect themselves and others this respiratory virus season,” said NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai. “Getting vaccinated, staying home when sick, washing hands regularly and covering coughs and sneezes can all help reduce the spread of seasonal illnesses.”