Army distributes nearly 1.4 million vaccines to combat expected annual flu spike

Story by C.J. Lovelace

U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command

FORT DETRICK, Md. — It’s that time again. As the season’s change and temperatures drop, seasonal influenza activity will soon be on the rise.

To help Soldiers, their Families and other Army beneficiaries stay healthy, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency’s Distribution Operations Center, or DOC, expects to distribute nearly 1.4 million doses of vaccine this flu season.

The DOC works closely with the Defense Health Agency and Defense Logistics Agency to ship its yearly vaccine, which is actually an ongoing process each year since traditional flu seasons can vary geographically.

“We are continuously shipping influenza vaccine throughout the year,” said Liz Serra, deputy director of the USAMMA DOC. “The annual southern hemisphere vaccine covers areas below the equator and their season goes April through September, while the northern hemisphere vaccine is seasonal and sees the greatest flu activity from August to March.”

As of Oct. 23, Army vaccines shipped totaled 1,067,900 doses, or about 77% of the Army’s total requested allotment, Serra said.

The Army’s share accounts for the majority of the 3 million doses being distributed throughout the Department of Defense, which sets an annual goal of having at least 90% of all active-duty military members vaccinated by Jan. 15.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that, on average, between 5% and 20% of people in the U.S. are affected by the flu each season, with children and the elderly population more susceptible.

This year’s vaccine is a trivalent vaccine versus a quadrivalent vaccine as seen in previous years, and it will not include an influenza B/Yamagata lineage virus or viral protein component. Per the CDC, this specific virus has not been detected by global flu surveillance since March 2020.

The flu is just one of several viruses that are expected to contribute to respiratory disease activity this fall and into the winter months. Others include COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

The CDC projects similar rates of peak hospitalization due to influenza this year compared to last, although much of that depends on the dominant strains of the virus in circulation, population immunity and overall vaccine effectiveness.

“Vaccination will play a key role in preventing hospital admissions due to influenza during the respiratory season,” the CDC’s 2024-25 Respiratory Disease Season Outlook reads. “Experts estimate, with moderate confidence, that effectiveness of the seasonal influenza vaccine against hospitalization will likely be between 33% and 50% — within the range of vaccine effectiveness observed in recent seasons.”

While seasonal activity remained relatively low nationally as of late October, the CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine. Kids aged 6 months to 8 years may require two doses, given about a month apart.

In addition to vaccines, handwashing remains a top recommendation to safeguard against virus transmission, but the CDC urges people to consider other measures, such as masking, physical distancing and improving airflow at home and work, to provide another layer of protection.

USAMMA is a direct reporting unit to Army Medical Logistics Command, the Army’s Life Cycle Management Command, or LCMC, for medical materiel.