Analysis: Only 1-in-3 adults ages 18 to 64 years get the flu shot

WASHINGTON — An analysis released Tuesday by the Trust for America's Health found that only 35.7% of adults ages 18 to 64 years got the flu shot last season. By comparison, 56.6% of children ages 6 months to 17 years old and 66.2% of seniors were vaccinated.  

"The trend of low vaccination rates among younger adults is particularly troubling this year, when they are more at risk than usual for the effects of the H1N1 strain of flu that's circulating," stated Jeffrey Levi, executive director of TFAH.

The analysis determined that overall flu vaccination rates remain low in the United States. Fewer than half of Americans (45%) got a flu shot during the 2012-13 season, which was an increase over 41.8% in the previous (2011-12) season.

During the 2012-13 flu season, vaccination rates were highest in Massachusetts at 57.5%, and lowest in Florida at 34.1%. Only 12 states had vaccination rates of 50% or higher:  Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Tennessee.

There were only three states that had decreases in their vaccination rates from the 2011-12 to the 2012-13 season:  Florida, Kansas and Wisconsin.