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Immunizations: Influenza Vaccine Data

Influenza, also called the flu, affects people differently and can lead to serious complications or even death. The best way to protect yourself and your community from the flu is to get a vaccine every fall. Flu vaccines are safe and effective at protecting people against illness, hospitalization, and even death. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reports on flu vaccinations for all persons at least 6 months old who have received at least one dose of flu vaccine during the season.

The flu season occurs in the fall and winter, although the exact dates and duration varies from year to year. Per guidance from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), individuals are recommended to receive an annual flu vaccine. Most individuals will need one dose of flu vaccine each season. Children 6 months to 8 years old who have received less than two flu vaccines in the past, or don’t know whether they received less than two vaccines in the past, should get two doses of vaccine this season.

Seasonal flu vaccination data for Wisconsin is based on information from the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR), unless otherwise specified. WIR is an internet database that tracks vaccine records for Wisconsin children and adults. For more information on how to access your own vaccine record, visit the DHS WIR webpage.

Data is updated on a weekly basis during the flu season.

Flu vaccines for Wisconsin residents

This dashboard provides breakdowns of vaccines administered to Wisconsin residents by county. Data in the map represent the county where the person who was vaccinated lives, not where they received their vaccine.

Percentages represent the vaccine coverage of the selected geography. This helps us understand how well communities are protected from flu.

We use Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH) query system totals to calculate vaccine coverage percentages. Because these are estimates, and not exact counts, it is possible for vaccination counts to exceed population estimates for some groups.

About Healthy People 2030: Healthy People identifies public health priorities to help individuals, organizations, and communities across the United States improve health and well-being. Increasing the proportion of persons who are vaccinated annually against seasonal influenza is one objective to the goal of increasing overall vaccination rates in the United States.

Data source: The Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR)

Vaccination administration: The cumulative number of influenza vaccines administered.

Vaccine dose: One vaccine dose is one vaccine product (like a shot or a nasal spray).

Vaccination coverage: An estimated percentage of the whole population who have received a flu vaccine. This helps us understand how well communities are protected from flu. It also helps us see which areas and groups are less protected against flu.

Population estimates: Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH) query system totals.

Data shown are subject to change. Some examples of corrections or updates that affect an area’s coverage include:

  • Removing duplicates or merging and consolidation of records
  • Updating a patient's address to a different county or state

Influenza vaccination coverage in Wisconsin by demographics

This dashboard provides breakdowns of vaccines administered to Wisconsin residents by age, sex, race, and ethnicity. County breakdowns are shown for age and sex. At this time, data in WIR is based on sex (male/female) and does not capture gender identity. Additionally, race and ethnicity are documented separately in WIR, but combined for the data visualization.

*AI/AN includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Indigenous or Native American populations. Asian includes Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander populations.

Demographic information such as sex, race, and ethnicity are not required to be reported in the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR). Additionally, WIR cannot store multiple race variables for a single vaccination record, regardless of how many are reported. As such, demographic breakdowns of vaccine administration by sex, race, and ethnicity may be incomplete. However, this data is a critical tool that provides insight into the vaccine program and helps inform decisions to ensure vaccine distribution is fair and equitable.

Data source: The Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR)

Vaccination administration: The cumulative number of influenza vaccines administered.

Vaccine dose: One vaccine dose is one vaccine product (like a shot or a nasal spray).

Vaccination coverage: An estimated percentage of the whole population who have received a flu vaccine. This helps us understand how well communities are protected from flu. It also helps us see which areas and groups are less protected against flu.

Population estimates: Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH) query system totals.

Data shown are subject to change. Some examples of corrections or updates that affect an area’s coverage include removing duplicates or merging and consolidation of records

Seasonal trends of influenza vaccines for Wisconsin residents

The first graph displays breakdown of the cumulative count of vaccines administered to Wisconsin residents during the given flu season and the count of vaccines administered each month, filtered by age group.

The second graph displays the cumulative percentage of vaccine coverage during the specified flu season, filtered by age group. Percentages helps us understand how well communities are protected from flu each season.

Data source: The Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR)

Vaccination administration: The cumulative number of flu vaccines administered.

Vaccine dose: One vaccine dose is one vaccine product (like a shot or a nasal spray).

Vaccination coverage: An estimated percentage of the whole population who have received a flu vaccine. This helps us understand how well communities are protected from flu. It also helps us see which areas and groups are less protected against flu.

Population estimates: Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH) query system totals.

Data shown are subject to change. Some examples of corrections or updates that affect coverage include:

  • Removing duplicates or merging and consolidation of records

Influenza vaccination coverage among vulnerable populations

Social vulnerability refers to the potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses on human health. Such stresses include natural or human-caused disasters, or disease outbreaks. Reducing social vulnerability can decrease both human suffering and economic loss.

What is the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI)?

The SVI is a place-based index, database, and mapping tool that helps users identify and characterize communities that are less able to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health crises. SVI uses U.S. Census data to determine the social vulnerability of every census tract. Census tracts are subdivisions of counties for which the Census collects statistical data. SVI ranks the tracts on 16 social factors, including unemployment, racial and ethnic minority status, and disability, and further groups them into four related themes. Thus, each tract receives a ranking for each Census variable and for each of the four themes as well as an overall ranking.

How DHS uses SVI: The map above can be used to help public health officials identify neighborhoods and communities with low influenza vaccination coverage. Public health officials can target messaging and increase access to influenza vaccines to areas with low coverage and low SVI scores. The general public may use this map to assess their vulnerability to influenza exposure by viewing neighborhoods with low vaccination coverage.

Data source: The Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR)

Vaccination administration: The cumulative number of influenza vaccines administered.

Vaccine dose: One vaccine dose is one vaccine product (like a shot or a nasal spray).

Vaccination coverage: An estimated percentage of the whole population who have received a flu vaccine. This helps us understand how well communities are protected from flu. It also helps us see which areas and groups are less protected against flu.

Population estimates: Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH) query system totals.

Data shown are subject to change. Some examples of corrections or updates that affect an area’s coverage include:

Removing duplicates or merging and consolidation of records

Data reports

Additional information on the influenza vaccine

For more information about these dashboards please contact the DHSImmProgram@dhs.wisconsin.gov.

Last revised April 12, 2024