Only about one in four Iowans have gotten flu shots so far this season, the lowest turnout in the past five years.

A report from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services shows nearly 27-percent of Iowans have been vaccinated through last week, compared to almost 39-percent the first year of the pandemic.

Elizabeth Scharon, a registered nurse and vaccine clinic manager at Gundersen Health System, recommends flu shots for virtually everyone.

"The flu vaccine is very important for our community," Scharon says. "It protects patients from obviously getting the flu, but also from having complications from getting the flu."

It can often take up to two weeks for the flu shot to become effective, so she says Iowans who are vaccinated now should be prepared for the upcoming holiday season.

"Sometimes the flu can be very mild and you won't notice many symptoms at all, but other times, you can get quite sick from the flu, and it can end up in hospitalization," Scharon says. "So the flu vaccine helps prevent you from getting the flu, number one, and if you do get the flu, you can get a more minor case."

While Iowans who are young and healthy likely aren't at great risk of getting severely ill from the flu, Scharon says they should still get vaccinated to protect more vulnerable people around them. She says it's the responsible thing to do.

"So if you have those who are elderly in your family, or young members of your family, it could prevent the spread of flu to those people and also in the community," Scharon says. "When you're at the grocery store, when you're out and about, you never know who may be immunocompromised, and if you do have a minor case of the flu, you may be unknowingly spreading it to somebody who is at a higher risk."

A report from the CDC for 2022 says about 500 Iowans died that year from complications from influenza and pneumonia.

Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.