Story by Kai Turik
Video by Daniel Masterson
On Nov. 2, 2019, Jeb Teichman was 650 miles away from his home in Kentucky when he received the call that no parent ever wants to get. His 29-year-old son, Brent, had been found unresponsive in his home after a few days of fighting mild flu symptoms.
Teichman described his son as the life-of-the-party. An avid sports fan, Brent loved playing soccer with his brother and engaged in lighthearted competition with his dad because they supported rival teams. He was a self-taught musician and led a garage band when he was in high school.
“He brought a smile to everyone’s face,” Teichman said. “He was just full of life.”
Brent first reached out to his dad after three days of complaining of a fever, cough and sore throat. Teichman is a retired pediatrician, so Brent calling for medical advice was nothing new.
“It was too late to start antivirals, so I told him to hydrate, treat his fever, get some rest,” Teichman said. “I checked on him the next day; his fever was trending down, and he was feeling somewhat better.
“I heard from him again two days later and he was having trouble breathing, so I told him to seek medical care. Four hours later, I got the call.”
At the time, Brent lived with his cousin, Jake, who wasn’t trained in CPR and wasn’t adequately equipped to save his best friend’s life. As 911 operators attempted to talk Jake through the CPR procedure, Teichman waited helplessly for updates.
“I had Jake hold up the phone so I could listen to EMS working on my son, listening to them try to revive him, calling for another round of epinephrine,” he said.
With his dad still on the line, Brent passed away. His father was shocked that his young, healthy son passed from a seemingly minor case of the flu.
Brent didn’t receive his flu vaccination that year.
“As a pediatrician, I’ve always been a huge advocate of all vaccinations, but young people think they’re invincible,” Teichman said. “We reminded Brent a couple of weeks before his passing that he needed to get vaccinated. He said he had it on his to-do list, but I guess he never got around to it.
“To this day, I close my eyes at night and I can still hear the beeping of the monitors.”
Four years later, Teichman still grieves the loss of his son, one of the many lives taken by the unrelenting grip of influenza.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone six months or older receive the flu vaccination annually. Research has shown that flu vaccination prevents illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations and death. Flu viruses are constantly changing, so vaccines are updated from one season to the next for increased protection during the upcoming season.
But flu vaccination rates have declined in the past few years: 46.9 percent of adults 18 and older in the United States received a flu vaccine last flu season, a 2.5 percent decrease from the previous season.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a drop in influenza immunization rates while levels of flu-related illnesses have remained high. The 2020-2021 flu season saw a vaccination rate of 50.2 percent for adults 18 and older, likely due to an increase of pro-vaccination media in the midst of the pandemic.
Vaccination rates have dropped by 3.3 percent since then, but the flu hasn’t lessened in severity. Last season, the CDC reported about 360,000 flu-related hospitalizations and 21,000 flu-related deaths in the U.S. This season, the CDC has already estimated between 12,000 and 27,000 flu-related hospitalizations and 740 to 2,200 flu-related deaths since Oct. 1, 2023.
Dr. David Weber, medical director of the Department of Infection Prevention at UNC-Chapel Hill, blames vaccine fatigue.
“I think some of the concerns that people had about influenza and the politicalization of the COVID vaccines have led to [these] things,” Weber said.
Vaccine fatigue refers to a person’s inaction or avoidance of vaccination due to the perceived burden and burnout, according to a 2022 study published by the National Library of Medicine. This phenomenon was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic through years of immunization demands, fear of vaccine side effects, misconceptions and lack of trust in the government and the media.
“Now, we've been using the flu vaccine for decades and decades, so we know a great deal about both its safety and effectiveness and that's not changed,” Weber said. “If anything, the flu vaccines are better now than they were in the past without any increase in side effects. But I think there's just more public reluctance.”
In the wake of increasing vaccine fatigue, Weber warns about the possibility of a flu pandemic in the future.
“It's never a question of if, it's only a question of when,” he said. “The most recent influenza pandemic was about 10 years ago.”
Avian flu strains have proved to be deadly in several species of domesticated birds in North Carolina and across the U.S within the past few years. While these strains have rarely infected humans, Weber said they could pick up the genes that would make them easily transmittable to humans at any time.
“It might be next year, might be this year, might be 20 years from now, but it's only a matter of time before we have another influenza pandemic just based on history,” Weber said.
The U.S. government has increased its vaccination efforts in an attempt to prevent a future worldwide shutdown. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is a government agency that funds the Influenza & Emerging Infectious Diseases Vaccine Development Program. Its goal is to advance the development and FDA approval of the most effective vaccines to mitigate future outbreaks of pandemic influenza.
BARDA has invested in pandemic influenza preparedness measures since 2005. Its goal is to identify potential pandemic strains, test possible treatments and then create vaccines that can be rapidly manufactured in the event that a flu pandemic is declared.
One of BARDA’s partners in pandemic preparedness is CSL Seqirus, one of the world’s largest influenza vaccine manufacturers. One of their vaccine production facilities is located in Holly Springs, N.C. The site is the largest cell-based flu vaccine production facility in the world, said Jon Kegerise, vice president of manufacturing and site head at CSL Seqirus Holly Springs.
“We have a pandemic responsibility to produce up to 150 million doses of flu vaccine within six months of declaration of a pandemic,” Kegerise said. “We've partnered with the U.S. government to make some strains of interest for them, convert those strains of interest into finished doses, and actually have started some clinical trials in humans to support our pandemic response.”
Kegerise also expressed concerns about the likelihood of an upcoming flu pandemic.
“The most likely pandemic that is predicted (in the near future) would be a flu pandemic,” he said. “Dr. Maurice Hilleman, the father of (modern) vaccines, predicted that different flu strains have a 68-year cycle: essentially the time it takes for an entire generation to turn over. So, a potential next flu pandemic could be in 2025.”
Just one shot might have spared the life of Brent and thousands of others annually.
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After the loss of his son, Teichman heard of a nonprofit organization called Families Fighting Flu that some of his friends and family had donated to in Brent’s honor. The goal of the organization is to promote flu vaccination by telling the stories of families who lost loved ones to the flu or had loved ones contract serious, life-threatening cases.
“In 2004, families that were impacted by the loss of a child under the age of 5 came together,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of Families Fighting Flu. “They didn't realize that not only was flu so serious (and) deadly, but that there was a preventative measure of vaccines that their children may have been able to be given. But, (the vaccine) wasn't recommended for them at that time. Therefore, none of their children were vaccinated against the flu; they got the flu, and they passed away.
“Our stories helped to make changes to the recommendations so that everyone 6 months and older are recommended to receive the annual flu vaccine.”
It took a year of processing and grief for Teichman to reach out to Families Fighting Flu. This year, he was elected as a board member. He also serves as the chair of its medical advisory board.
Now, Teichman acts as a guest speaker on behalf of the organization, both virtually and at events across the nation. He said the most fulfilling aspect has been sharing his son’s story and starting impactful conversations on the importance of flu vaccination with families, doctors and lawmakers alike.
“I joined Families Fighting Flu (to honor) my son’s legacy and to spread the word so that other families don't walk the same path that mine walks,” Teichman said. “It's not easy, but I wanted to tell Brent's story because it is impactful.
“My hope is that by hearing it, somebody who's sitting on the fence about getting vaccinated just might change their mind.”
