A pop-up clinic tent with a folding table, a vaccine cooler and boxes of bandages in a city park

Chicago’s Immunization Registry Shows 29,979 Fewer Children With a Recorded Flu Shot in 2025–26 Than in 2021–22, and 20,894 More Seniors. By ZIP Code, 17 to 40 Percent of Residents Had One on Record.

Chicago’s immunization registry holds a flu shot on record for 153,385 children in the 2025–26 season, 29,979 fewer than four seasons earlier, and for 182,014 residents 65 and older, 20,894 more. By ZIP code the share of residents with a recorded shot runs from 16.7 percent to 40.1 percent, and 60 percent of the residents with a recorded shot last season have it dated Nov. 1 or earlier.

Chicago’s immunization registry holds a flu shot on record for 153,385 children in the 2025–26 season, 29,979 fewer than four seasons earlier, and for 182,014 residents 65 and older, 20,894 more. Across all ages it holds one for 768,823 residents, 28.4 percent of the city and the fewest in the five seasons on file, and by ZIP code the share runs from 16.7 percent to 40.1 percent.

Chicago Department of Public Health flu vaccination files from the Illinois immunization registry, seasons 2021–22 to 2026–27 · read September 30, 2026

The registry is I-CARE, the Illinois Comprehensive Automated Immunization Registry Exchange, the state system where medical providers log the vaccines they give. From it the Chicago Department of Public Health, CDPH in its own pages, publishes week by week how many city residents have at least one flu shot on record for the season, which its files run from July through the following June. The record is incomplete by the department’s own account. Its description of the files says flu vaccine administration “is not required to be reported in Illinois, except for publicly funded vaccine” and names the Vaccines for Children program as one example of public funding. A shot given in another state, or by a provider that does not report, is missing. Every figure on this page is a count of residents with at least one flu shot on record. The department calls its counts an underestimate, and a figure for one age group, race or ZIP code can also miss in either direction, because it depends on the group and address the provider recorded.

Three parts of this page are for a resident deciding about a shot this fall: what the record shows for each ZIP code, when the record dates Chicagoans’ shots compared with when the city says is best, and where the city gives flu shots regardless of insurance, as its own pages stated on September 30, 2026.

The count is the lowest in five seasons, and the percentage did not move

SeasonResidents with a recorded flu shotPopulation the file divides byShare
2021–22794,2872,746,38828.9%
2022–23816,7642,746,38829.7%
2023–24773,9672,746,38828.2%
2024–25779,9902,746,38828.4%
2025–26768,8232,707,64828.4%

Did flu vaccination hold steady last season? By percentage it did: 28.4 percent in 2024–25 and 28.4 percent in 2025–26. By count it fell. The registry shows 11,167 fewer residents with a shot, and 768,823 is the lowest total of the five complete seasons on file. The highest was 816,764 in 2022–23.

The percentage held because the file changed what it divides by. Through 2024–25 each season’s count is set against a population of 2,746,388. For 2025–26 the figure is 2,707,648. Set against the earlier population, the 2025–26 count comes to 28.0 percent. The file’s description says: “Population counts are obtained from the 2020 U.S. Decennial Census.” The department’s data brief of January 2026 on the same registry says: “Population denominators are from the U.S. Census Bureau 2018-2023 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.” Neither document says which seasons use which figure, so this page leads with counts.

Children’s counts fell every season, and the count of seniors is up 13 percent

80901001102021–222022–232023–242024–252025–2665 and older+13%65 and older, 2021–22: 161,120 residents with a recorded flu shot65 and older, 2022–23: 177,511 residents with a recorded flu shot65 and older, 2023–24: 174,563 residents with a recorded flu shot65 and older, 2024–25: 183,266 residents with a recorded flu shot65 and older, 2025–26: 182,014 residents with a recorded flu shot18 to 64−4%18 to 64, 2021–22: 449,803 residents with a recorded flu shot18 to 64, 2022–23: 465,257 residents with a recorded flu shot18 to 64, 2023–24: 434,241 residents with a recorded flu shot18 to 64, 2024–25: 437,642 residents with a recorded flu shot18 to 64, 2025–26: 433,424 residents with a recorded flu shotUnder 18−16%Under 18, 2021–22: 183,364 residents with a recorded flu shotUnder 18, 2022–23: 173,996 residents with a recorded flu shotUnder 18, 2023–24: 165,163 residents with a recorded flu shotUnder 18, 2024–25: 159,082 residents with a recorded flu shotUnder 18, 2025–26: 153,385 residents with a recorded flu shot
Residents with a recorded flu shot, by age group Each group’s 2021–22 count is set to 100, and each label gives the change to 2025–26. The counts are in the table below.
Age2021–222025–26ChangeShare of the age group, 2025–26
Under 564,78853,031−11,757 (−18%)35.2%
5 to 17118,576100,320−18,256 (−15%)26.0%
All under 18183,364153,385−29,979 (−16%)28.6%
18 to 2995,17098,012+2,842 (+3%)18.5%
30 to 49207,549201,344−6,205 (−3%)24.8%
50 to 64147,084134,068−13,016 (−9%)29.0%
65 and older161,120182,014+20,894 (+13%)49.4%
All ages794,287768,823−25,464 (−3%)28.4%

The citywide count is down 25,464 from 2021–22, and the three broad age groups moved in different directions. Children under 18 are down 29,979, or 16 percent. Adults 18 to 64 are down 16,379, or 4 percent. Residents 65 and older are up 20,894, or 13 percent. Both children’s age groups fell in each of the four season-to-season steps, and no adult group did. The steepest drop is among children under 5, from 64,788 to 53,031, 18 percent.

The department reads its record the same way. Its January data brief, which covered the season through Dec. 31, 2025, said that “the percentage of children who received a flu shot has declined for the past four years, decreasing from 34.7% among children age 0–4 in 2021-22 to 27.4% this season.”

Are there fewer children to vaccinate? School enrollment is the one yearly count of children we have published, and it fell far less than the registry count. Chicago Public Schools enrollment fell 4.3 percent between fall 2021 and fall 2025, from 330,411 to 316,224, while the registry’s count for ages 5 to 17 fell 15.4 percent across the same seasons. Enrollment leaves out children too young for school and those in private schools, so it cannot settle how many children live in the city. The enrollment figures are from Chicago’s Public Schools Counted 316,224 Students Last Fall — 104,701 Fewer Than 20 Years Earlier. The Loop’s Schools Nearly Doubled.

Could the drop reflect a change in reporting while the number of children vaccinated held? The files have no field that would settle it. What is on the record is the rule. Reporting is required when the vaccine is publicly funded, and the program the description names first, Vaccines for Children, supplies vaccine for children who are uninsured, underinsured or eligible for Medicaid, according to the department’s vaccines page. A shot paid for by private insurance or out of pocket falls outside the rule at any age. The files do not say what share of any group’s shots were publicly funded, so they cannot show how much of the drop, if any, comes from reporting.

Where did the children’s count fall? In every part of the city the department reports on. It groups Chicago’s 77 community areas, the fixed districts the city uses for its statistics, into six Healthy Chicago Equity Zones, and in its zone file the count of children with a recorded shot fell in all six between 2021–22 and 2025–26: by 24 percent in the Southwest zone (34,109 to 26,009), 17 percent in the Northwest, 15 percent in the Far South, 14 percent in the North/Central, 13 percent in the West and 2 percent in the Near South (14,470 to 14,162).

The ZIP code file separates children from adults only through 2024–25. Between 2021–22 and that season the children’s count fell in 43 of the 52 ZIP codes ranked below. The nine where it rose are on the South, Southeast and West sides, and six of the nine are among the ten ZIP codes with the lowest overall share. They include 60621, most of which lies in Englewood (1,065 children to 1,316), and 60636, most of which lies in West Englewood (1,930 to 2,224).

By race and ethnicity, the widest gap is among children

The files also sort residents by the race and ethnicity the provider reported. For 2025–26 they show a recorded shot for 30.4 percent of Asian residents, 29.7 percent of white residents, 26.8 percent of Latinx residents and 18.9 percent of Black residents. The group names are the file’s. Those shares have a weakness. The description warns that “the medical provider may report incorrect demographic information for the person receiving the vaccination, which may lead to over- or underestimation of vaccination coverage.” In 2025–26, 94,273 of the 768,823 residents counted, 12 percent, are coded Other or Unknown.

2024–25 is the last season the citywide file breaks down by age and race together
Share with a recorded shot, 2024–25AsianBlackLatinxWhite
Under 1839.5%13.5%32.0%36.2%
18 to 6424.0%14.3%21.9%23.9%
65 and older48.2%41.0%57.3%46.8%

Among children under 18 that season, the registry shows a shot for 13.5 percent of Black children, 32.0 percent of Latinx children, 36.2 percent of white children and 39.5 percent of Asian children. Could the residents coded Other or Unknown account for a gap that size? The arithmetic says no. Of the children counted that season, 17,257 are coded Other or Unknown. If every one of them were a Black child, the figure for Black children would be 23.7 percent, still the lowest of the four. The test cannot rule out children recorded under the wrong one of the four named groups.

The same test yields no ranking for adults 18 to 64 or for residents 65 and older. Among the older group the recorded shares are 41.0 percent for Black residents, 46.8 for white residents, 48.2 for Asian residents and 57.3 for Latinx residents, and the residents coded Other or Unknown are numerous enough to reorder them. Nothing in the files says why any group’s share is what it is.

By ZIP code, from 16.7 percent to 40.1 percent

Residents with a flu shot on record, 2025–26 Share of each ZIP code’s residents. Gray: left out of the ranking under 20%20%25%30%35%+ 60601: 35.0 percent of residents, 5,702 of 16,292. Covers mostly Loop60602: no data60603: no data60604: no data60605: 33.9 percent of residents, 11,629 of 34,256. Covers mostly Near South Side, Loop60606: no data60607: 36.2 percent of residents, 10,933 of 30,197. Covers mostly Near West Side60608: 23.1 percent of residents, 18,791 of 81,459. Covers mostly Lower West Side, Near West Side, Bridgeport60609: 22.6 percent of residents, 14,550 of 64,268. Covers mostly New City60610: 30.3 percent of residents, 13,726 of 45,282. Covers mostly Near North Side60611: 38.1 percent of residents, 13,740 of 36,036. Covers mostly Near North Side60612: 25.2 percent of residents, 8,732 of 34,699. Covers mostly Near West Side, East Garfield Park60613: 40.1 percent of residents, 20,569 of 51,334. Covers mostly Lake View, Uptown60614: 38.9 percent of residents, 27,411 of 70,444. Covers mostly Lincoln Park60615: 30.7 percent of residents, 13,123 of 42,752. Covers mostly Hyde Park, Kenwood, Washington Park60616: 27.0 percent of residents, 14,682 of 54,456. Covers mostly Douglas, Near South Side, Armour Square60617: 22.7 percent of residents, 18,013 of 79,284. Covers mostly South Deering, South Chicago, East Side60618: 36.0 percent of residents, 33,061 of 91,896. Covers mostly Avondale, Irving Park, North Center60619: 20.3 percent of residents, 12,135 of 59,892. Covers mostly Chatham, Greater Grand Crossing60620: 19.3 percent of residents, 12,855 of 66,511. Covers mostly Auburn Gresham, Washington Heights60621: 17.7 percent of residents, 4,830 of 27,318. Covers mostly Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing60622: 33.9 percent of residents, 18,204 of 53,696. Covers mostly West Town60623: 24.9 percent of residents, 19,168 of 77,061. Covers mostly South Lawndale, North Lawndale60624: 20.2 percent of residents, 7,215 of 35,711. Covers mostly West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park60625: 35.7 percent of residents, 27,975 of 78,467. Covers mostly Lincoln Square, Albany Park, North Park60626: 31.2 percent of residents, 15,590 of 50,027. Covers mostly Rogers Park60628: 19.8 percent of residents, 11,747 of 59,212. Covers mostly Roseland, West Pullman, Pullman60629: 25.5 percent of residents, 27,899 of 109,292. Covers mostly Chicago Lawn, West Lawn60630: 31.3 percent of residents, 16,994 of 54,242. Covers mostly Jefferson Park, Portage Park60631: 31.3 percent of residents, 9,496 of 30,308. Covers mostly Norwood Park, Edison Park60632: 25.5 percent of residents, 22,353 of 87,831. Covers mostly Brighton Park, Archer Heights60633: 16.7 percent of residents, 2,088 of 12,485. Covers mostly Hegewisch, South Deering60634: 25.9 percent of residents, 19,279 of 74,418. Covers mostly Dunning, O’Hare60636: 23.1 percent of residents, 7,149 of 31,007. Covers mostly West Englewood60637: 21.3 percent of residents, 11,176 of 52,418. Covers mostly Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park60638: 24.6 percent of residents, 14,355 of 58,250. Covers mostly Garfield Ridge, Clearing60639: 25.9 percent of residents, 21,878 of 84,505. Covers mostly Belmont Cragin, Austin, Hermosa60640: 40.1 percent of residents, 26,809 of 66,884. Covers mostly Uptown, Edgewater60641: 30.4 percent of residents, 20,502 of 67,400. Covers mostly Portage Park, Irving Park, Belmont Cragin60642: 32.0 percent of residents, 6,766 of 21,124. Covers mostly West Town, Near North Side60643: 26.9 percent of residents, 12,863 of 47,802. Covers mostly Morgan Park, Beverly, Washington Heights60644: 17.8 percent of residents, 8,577 of 48,317. Covers mostly Austin60645: 32.4 percent of residents, 15,187 of 46,856. Covers mostly West Ridge60646: 36.3 percent of residents, 10,333 of 28,499. Covers mostly Forest Glen60647: 33.9 percent of residents, 29,003 of 85,589. Covers mostly Logan Square60649: 17.1 percent of residents, 8,319 of 48,720. Covers mostly South Shore60651: 23.3 percent of residents, 14,888 of 63,892. Covers mostly Humboldt Park, Austin60652: 25.3 percent of residents, 10,497 of 41,431. Covers mostly Ashburn60653: 20.4 percent of residents, 7,074 of 34,608. Covers mostly Grand Boulevard, Oakland, Kenwood60654: 28.2 percent of residents, 6,854 of 24,303. Covers mostly Near North Side, West Town60655: 26.0 percent of residents, 7,228 of 27,794. Covers mostly Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park, Beverly60656: 22.6 percent of residents, 6,480 of 28,726. Covers mostly Norwood Park, O’Hare60657: 39.5 percent of residents, 28,120 of 71,268. Covers mostly Lake View60659: 29.2 percent of residents, 12,278 of 42,008. Covers mostly West Ridge, North Park60660: 36.5 percent of residents, 15,608 of 42,750. Covers mostly Edgewater60661: 30.3 percent of residents, 3,488 of 11,516. Covers mostly Near West Side60666: no data60707: no data60827: no data
The map ranks 52 ZIP codes. Seven are left out: four small Loop ZIP codes, two on the city’s western and southern edges, and O’Hare’s.
Every ranked ZIP code’s figure, in text, lowest first

Share of residents with a recorded flu shot, 2025–26, with the community areas each ZIP code mostly covers: 60633 (Hegewisch, South Deering) 16.7%; 60649 (South Shore) 17.1%; 60621 (Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing) 17.7%; 60644 (Austin) 17.8%; 60620 (Auburn Gresham, Washington Heights) 19.3%; 60628 (Roseland, West Pullman, Pullman) 19.8%; 60624 (West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park) 20.2%; 60619 (Chatham, Greater Grand Crossing) 20.3%; 60653 (Grand Boulevard, Oakland, Kenwood) 20.4%; 60637 (Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park) 21.3%; 60656 (Norwood Park, O’Hare) 22.6%; 60609 (New City) 22.6%; 60617 (South Deering, South Chicago, East Side) 22.7%; 60636 (West Englewood) 23.1%; 60608 (Lower West Side, Near West Side, Bridgeport) 23.1%; 60651 (Humboldt Park, Austin) 23.3%; 60638 (Garfield Ridge, Clearing) 24.6%; 60623 (South Lawndale, North Lawndale) 24.9%; 60612 (Near West Side, East Garfield Park) 25.2%; 60652 (Ashburn) 25.3%; 60632 (Brighton Park, Archer Heights) 25.5%; 60629 (Chicago Lawn, West Lawn) 25.5%; 60639 (Belmont Cragin, Austin, Hermosa) 25.9%; 60634 (Dunning, O’Hare) 25.9%; 60655 (Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park, Beverly) 26.0%; 60643 (Morgan Park, Beverly, Washington Heights) 26.9%; 60616 (Douglas, Near South Side, Armour Square) 27.0%; 60654 (Near North Side, West Town) 28.2%; 60659 (West Ridge, North Park) 29.2%; 60661 (Near West Side) 30.3%; 60610 (Near North Side) 30.3%; 60641 (Portage Park, Irving Park, Belmont Cragin) 30.4%; 60615 (Hyde Park, Kenwood, Washington Park) 30.7%; 60626 (Rogers Park) 31.2%; 60630 (Jefferson Park, Portage Park) 31.3%; 60631 (Norwood Park, Edison Park) 31.3%; 60642 (West Town, Near North Side) 32.0%; 60645 (West Ridge) 32.4%; 60647 (Logan Square) 33.9%; 60622 (West Town) 33.9%; 60605 (Near South Side, Loop) 33.9%; 60601 (Loop) 35.0%; 60625 (Lincoln Square, Albany Park, North Park) 35.7%; 60618 (Avondale, Irving Park, North Center) 36.0%; 60607 (Near West Side) 36.2%; 60646 (Forest Glen) 36.3%; 60660 (Edgewater) 36.5%; 60611 (Near North Side) 38.1%; 60614 (Lincoln Park) 38.9%; 60657 (Lake View) 39.5%; 60613 (Lake View, Uptown) 40.1%; 60640 (Uptown, Edgewater) 40.1%.

Lowest shares, and the community areas each ZIP code mostly coversshare
  • 60633Hegewisch, South Deering16.7%
  • 60649South Shore17.1%
  • 60621Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing17.7%
  • 60644Austin17.8%
  • 60620Auburn Gresham, Washington Heights19.3%
  • 60628Roseland, West Pullman, Pullman19.8%
  • 60624West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park20.2%
  • 60619Chatham, Greater Grand Crossing20.3%
  • 60653Grand Boulevard, Oakland, Kenwood20.4%
  • 60637Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park21.3%
Highest sharesshare
  • 60640Uptown, Edgewater40.1%
  • 60613Lake View, Uptown40.1%
  • 60657Lake View39.5%
  • 60614Lincoln Park38.9%
  • 60611Near North Side38.1%
  • 60660Edgewater36.5%
  • 60646Forest Glen36.3%
  • 60607Near West Side36.2%
  • 60618Avondale, Irving Park, North Center36.0%
  • 60625Lincoln Square, Albany Park, North Park35.7%

The ten lowest ZIP codes are on the South, Southeast and West sides. Eight of the ten highest are on the North and Northwest sides, and the other two border the Loop: 60611 on the Near North Side and 60607 on the Near West Side. The highest share is 2.4 times the lowest.

Is the bottom of the ranking where the citywide decline happened? No. In all ten of the lowest ZIP codes the registry shows more residents with a shot than in 2021–22: 16 percent more in 60621 and 15 percent more in 60637, which takes in parts of Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing and Hyde Park. Across the 52 ranked ZIP codes the count fell in 30 and rose in 22. The largest losses are on the Southwest, West and Northwest sides: 60632 (Brighton Park and Archer Heights) is down 3,671, or 14 percent, and 60639 (Belmont Cragin, Austin and Hermosa), 60623 (South Lawndale and North Lawndale) and 60629 (Chicago Lawn and West Lawn) are each down more than 2,600.

Seven of the file’s 59 ZIP codes are left out of the ranking. Four small Loop ZIP codes (60602, 60603, 60604 and 60606) each have fewer than 4,000 residents, and the file itself drops them from the current season. The description warns that “the medical provider may report a work address or incorrect home address for the person receiving the vaccination, which may lead to over- or underestimation of vaccination coverage by geography.” O’Hare’s 60666 has no population figure. The last two, 60707 and 60827, lie on the city’s western and southern edges and show 12.0 and 2.8 percent, far below every other ZIP code. The description says: “For ZIP Codes mostly outside Chicago, coverage percentages are not calculated because reliable Chicago-only population counts are not available.” The file shows percentages for those two anyway, and its ZIP code populations add up to 2,797,595 for the seasons through 2024–25, 51,207 more than the 2,746,388 it uses for the city, so some of them include people who live outside Chicago. Our reading is that those two rows divide counts of Chicago residents by populations that include suburban residents.

Find a ZIP code

2025–26 season, 52 ZIP codes in numerical order
ZIP code and the community areas it mostly coversResidents with a recorded shotShare
60601 · Loop5,70235.0%
60605 · Near South Side, Loop11,62933.9%
60607 · Near West Side10,93336.2%
60608 · Lower West Side, Near West Side, Bridgeport18,79123.1%
60609 · New City14,55022.6%
60610 · Near North Side13,72630.3%
60611 · Near North Side13,74038.1%
60612 · Near West Side, East Garfield Park8,73225.2%
60613 · Lake View, Uptown20,56940.1%
60614 · Lincoln Park27,41138.9%
60615 · Hyde Park, Kenwood, Washington Park13,12330.7%
60616 · Douglas, Near South Side, Armour Square14,68227.0%
60617 · South Deering, South Chicago, East Side18,01322.7%
60618 · Avondale, Irving Park, North Center33,06136.0%
60619 · Chatham, Greater Grand Crossing12,13520.3%
60620 · Auburn Gresham, Washington Heights12,85519.3%
60621 · Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing4,83017.7%
60622 · West Town18,20433.9%
60623 · South Lawndale, North Lawndale19,16824.9%
60624 · West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park7,21520.2%
60625 · Lincoln Square, Albany Park, North Park27,97535.7%
60626 · Rogers Park15,59031.2%
60628 · Roseland, West Pullman, Pullman11,74719.8%
60629 · Chicago Lawn, West Lawn27,89925.5%
60630 · Jefferson Park, Portage Park16,99431.3%
60631 · Norwood Park, Edison Park9,49631.3%
60632 · Brighton Park, Archer Heights22,35325.5%
60633 · Hegewisch, South Deering2,08816.7%
60634 · Dunning, O’Hare19,27925.9%
60636 · West Englewood7,14923.1%
60637 · Woodlawn, Greater Grand Crossing, Hyde Park11,17621.3%
60638 · Garfield Ridge, Clearing14,35524.6%
60639 · Belmont Cragin, Austin, Hermosa21,87825.9%
60640 · Uptown, Edgewater26,80940.1%
60641 · Portage Park, Irving Park, Belmont Cragin20,50230.4%
60642 · West Town, Near North Side6,76632.0%
60643 · Morgan Park, Beverly, Washington Heights12,86326.9%
60644 · Austin8,57717.8%
60645 · West Ridge15,18732.4%
60646 · Forest Glen10,33336.3%
60647 · Logan Square29,00333.9%
60649 · South Shore8,31917.1%
60651 · Humboldt Park, Austin14,88823.3%
60652 · Ashburn10,49725.3%
60653 · Grand Boulevard, Oakland, Kenwood7,07420.4%
60654 · Near North Side, West Town6,85428.2%
60655 · Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park, Beverly7,22826.0%
60656 · Norwood Park, O’Hare6,48022.6%
60657 · Lake View28,12039.5%
60659 · West Ridge, North Park12,27829.2%
60660 · Edgewater15,60836.5%
60661 · Near West Side3,48830.3%

Sixty percent of the residents with a recorded shot last season have it dated Nov. 1 or earlier

The department’s flu page says: “September and October are the best times to get vaccinated. However, as long as flu viruses are circulating, you can get the flu vaccine even in January or later.” How closely does the record follow that? The files place each resident in the week of the shot: the description counts residents “who are considered up to date as of the week ending date” and says counts for recent dates rise as reports arrive. Of the 768,823 residents with a recorded shot in 2025–26, the files date 463,552, or 60 percent, to Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 or earlier. The other 305,271 are dated later. The pattern repeats. In each of the five seasons the share stood between 60 and 63 percent at the first Saturday of November, and the three largest weekly increases of every season came in weeks ending between Oct. 4 and Oct. 23. Last season’s largest was the week ending Oct. 18, 2025, which added 60,808 residents to the count.

0%25%50%75%100%Sept. 6Oct. 4Nov. 1Nov. 29Dec. 2765 and older65 and older, week ending 2025-09-06: 8.3% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-09-13: 15.0% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-09-20: 22.7% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-09-27: 30.6% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-10-04: 39.1% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-10-11: 47.7% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-10-18: 56.0% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-10-25: 63.5% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-11-01: 69.8% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-11-08: 74.7% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-11-15: 78.9% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-11-22: 82.7% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-11-29: 84.6% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-12-06: 87.0% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-12-13: 89.0% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-12-20: 90.9% dated by then65 and older, week ending 2025-12-27: 91.9% dated by thenAll agesAll ages, week ending 2025-09-06: 5.6% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-09-13: 10.6% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-09-20: 16.8% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-09-27: 23.5% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-10-04: 31.0% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-10-11: 38.8% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-10-18: 46.7% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-10-25: 53.9% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-11-01: 60.3% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-11-08: 65.6% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-11-15: 70.5% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-11-22: 74.7% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-11-29: 77.5% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-12-06: 80.4% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-12-13: 82.9% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-12-20: 85.3% dated by thenAll ages, week ending 2025-12-27: 86.6% dated by thenUnder 18Under 18, week ending 2025-09-06: 4.3% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-09-13: 8.2% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-09-20: 13.0% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-09-27: 18.7% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-10-04: 24.8% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-10-11: 31.1% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-10-18: 38.2% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-10-25: 44.5% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-11-01: 50.6% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-11-08: 56.0% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-11-15: 61.6% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-11-22: 66.2% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-11-29: 69.4% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-12-06: 72.7% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-12-13: 75.8% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-12-20: 78.5% dated by thenUnder 18, week ending 2025-12-27: 80.1% dated by thenDated by Nov. 165 and older: 70%All ages: 60%Under 18: 51%
Last season’s recorded shots, by the week the record dates them Share of each group’s residents with a recorded 2025–26 shot whose shot is dated by the end of each week, Sept. 6 to Dec. 27, 2025.
Share whose shot is datedBy Sept. 27By Nov. 1By Dec. 27After Jan. 31
Under 1819%51%80%9%
18 to 6422%60%87%5%
65 and older31%70%92%3%
All ages24%60%87%5%

Age changes the timing. Of the residents 65 and older with a recorded shot, 70 percent have it dated by Nov. 1. Among children the share is 51 percent, and 9 percent of the children have theirs dated after Jan. 31, against 3 percent of the residents 65 and older.

The current season’s count stands at 159,447 residents through Sept. 26, 2026, 5.9 percent of the city. The file’s figure for the matching week a year earlier is 180,952, but the two cannot be compared yet. The description warns that “it is, in fact, very common for recent dates to be incomplete and to be updated as time goes on.” Last year’s figure has had a year to fill in. We have kept this reading of the files and will set a later one beside it.

A second measure: the department’s survey of adults

The registry counts records. The department also asks residents. Its Healthy Chicago Survey, an annual survey of adults, yields a figure that the Chicago Health Atlas defines this way: “Percent of adults who report that they had a flu shot or a flu vaccine that was sprayed in their nose within the past 12 months.” The published results are 29.0 percent in 2021, 36.4 in 2022, 33.6 in 2023 and 28.6 in 2024, each with a margin of error of about two points. The registry’s share for adults moved far less: 27.8 percent in 2021–22, then 29.2, 27.7, 28.2 and 28.3.

What does the comparison show? In 2024 the two estimates stood within a point of each other: 28.6 percent on the survey, and 27.7 and 28.2 percent on the registry for the two flu seasons that overlap that year. In 2022 the survey stood 7 to 9 points above the registry’s shares for 2021–22 and 2022–23. The sources cannot say which measure moved, and the comparison does not measure the registry’s undercount. A survey year and a flu season do not cover the same months, the survey carries its margin of error, and its answers depend on memory.

For residents 65 and older the order reverses. The survey’s 2024 figure is 41.0 percent, and the registry’s is 52.3 percent for 2024–25 and 49.4 for 2025–26. Part of that gap may come from who is asked. The survey’s publisher describes it as a survey of non-institutionalized adults, so residents of nursing homes are outside it, and their shots can be in the registry. That is our reading; neither source measures it.

The survey also sorts the city much as the registry does. It publishes an estimate for each community area that combines its 2023 and 2024 samples, and we matched those estimates to ZIP codes by land area. Of the 26 ZIP codes in the upper half on the registry’s adult share for 2024–25, 22 are also in the upper half on the survey. The survey does not depend on what providers report, so the agreement is a rough check on the ZIP code ranking.

Where the city gives flu shots regardless of insurance

The department’s immunization clinics page, as read on September 30, 2026, says: “Starting September 1, 2026, CDPH will have the updated seasonal 2026-2027 flu vaccine at CDPH Immunization clinics for any Chicago resident regardless of insurance status.” It lists four clinics. The share beside each is the recorded figure from the table above for the ZIP code in the page’s own map link.

  • Greater Lawn West 55th Street Health Hub. 4150 W. 55th Street. Monday–Wednesday, 8:00 am–3:00 pm. ZIP code 60632: 25.5 percent of residents with a recorded shot in 2025–26.
  • Uptown West Wilson Avenue Health Hub. 845 W. Wilson Ave., 2nd level. Monday and Wednesday, 8:00 am–3:00 pm; Tuesday, 9:00 am–4:00 pm. ZIP code 60640: 40.1 percent of residents with a recorded shot in 2025–26.
  • Pilsen South Ashland Health Hub. 1713 S. Ashland Ave. Thursday and Friday, 8:30 am–3:30 pm. ZIP code 60608: 23.1 percent of residents with a recorded shot in 2025–26.
  • Roseland East 115th Street Health Hub. 200 E. 115th St., 2nd fl. Thursday and Friday, 8:30 am–3:30 pm. ZIP code 60628: 19.8 percent of residents with a recorded shot in 2025–26.

Three of the four clinics are in ZIP codes in the lower half of the ranking (60628, 60608 and 60632). The fourth, in Uptown, is in 60640, which is tied with 60613 for the highest share in the city.

The same page says: “Walk-ins are welcome, but registration is highly encouraged.” Registration is at getvaxchi.chicago.gov. The page also says: “You may be asked to show proof of residence.” It adds: “People with insurance are encouraged to get updated seasonal flu and COVID-19 through their pharmacy or healthcare provider if possible.” It carries a calendar of vaccine events and the schedule of a mobile clinic: “The Chicago CareVan is a mobile immunization clinic that offers services at no out of pocket cost at Head Start, child care centers, schools, public housing sites, WIC centers, and community events.” Hours and locations change, and the city’s page is the current word on them.

For children, the department’s vaccines page says the Vaccines for Children program “offers vaccines at no cost to eligible children through health care providers enrolled in the program, including uninsured, underinsured and Medicaid eligible children.” For older residents it says: “If you are a senior seeking high-dose flu vaccine, CDPH encourages you to call ahead to verify availability and cost.” For everyone, the flu page says: “The flu vaccine is offered (often at no additional cost) in many doctor’s offices, pharmacies, as well as by many employers and schools.” It also says: “With rare exceptions, everyone six months of age or older needs a flu vaccine.”

What these files cannot tell you

  • Whether any one person is vaccinated. The files are counts by group, and a shot that never reached the registry is not in them.
  • How large the undercount is. The department calls its figures an underestimate and puts no number on the gap, and the survey comparison above does not measure it.
  • Where a shot was given. A ZIP code here is the address the provider reported for the patient, which the description says may be a work address or an incorrect home address.
  • Why a count is low or falling. No field records a reason, and this page offers none.
  • How this season compares with last. The newest weeks are still filling in.
  • Anything about illness. These are vaccination records. Flu activity is tracked in separate files, listed in the next section.

Where to look up your own record and this week’s flu activity

  • Your own vaccination history. The department’s vaccines page points residents to “the IDPH self-service portal Vax Verify” (idphportal.illinois.gov). IDPH is the Illinois Department of Public Health, which runs the registry.
  • The same counts, updated weekly. The department’s Flu Vaccine Dashboard, whose page says: “The data on this dashboard will be updated weekly September through May.” The three files behind this page are on the city’s data portal: citywide, by ZIP code and by zone.
  • Flu activity. The department’s Respiratory Illness Data page carries a dashboard of flu, COVID-19 and RSV activity. The page says: “The dashboard will be updated every Friday at 1 p.m.” It adds: “The full respiratory illness surveillance report will resume in October, or sooner if respiratory activity begins to increase in the summer months.”
  • A flu level for each ZIP code. The city file Influenza Risk Level by ZIP Code rates each ZIP code each week on a scale of 1 to 10, from the level of flu-like illness among emergency department visits. Its description says: “Estimates are made during flu season, which goes from MMWR week 40 to week 20 of the following year.” MMWR weeks are the numbered weeks of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and week 40 of 2026 begins Oct. 4.

How we counted

  • The files. Three Chicago Department of Public Health files on the city data portal, each read whole on September 30, 2026 after that morning’s update: Influenza Vaccination Coverage, Citywide (20,832 rows), Influenza Vaccination Coverage, ZIP Code (65,744) and Influenza Vaccination Coverage, Region (HCEZ) (63,168). Each row is a running count, as of a Saturday, of residents with one or more flu vaccine doses recorded in I-CARE for the season. Five seasons are complete, 2021–22 through 2025–26. The current season has four weeks of rows, Sept. 5 to Sept. 26, 2026.
  • Shares. A share is a count divided by the population figure the file gives on the same row, rounded to one decimal. Ours match the file’s own to its three decimal places. The file changed its population figures for 2025–26, citywide and for every ranked ZIP code, so changes over time are given as counts.
  • Children. Children are read from the file’s under-18 row. For 2025–26 its two narrower rows, under 5 and 5 to 17, add up to 34 fewer than that row; in earlier seasons they add up exactly. For 2024–25 the file gives ages 5 to 17 as two rows, which we added.
  • Race and ethnicity. The file’s groups are Asian, non-Latinx; Black, non-Latinx; Latinx; White, non-Latinx; Other, non-Latinx; and Unknown. We rank groups only where the order holds after every Other and Unknown record is assigned to the lowest group. We read no trends by race across seasons: between 2022–23 and 2023–24 the white count fell by 46,839 while the Latinx count rose by 30,297, a swing we take to be a change in coding.
  • ZIP codes. The file lists 59 ZIP codes and an Unknown row. Its ZIP code rows add up to the citywide count in every season through 2024–25 and to 1,513 fewer than the citywide count in 2025–26. The community areas named beside a ZIP code are those that make up at least 15 percent of its land, up to three, from our overlay of the city’s ZIP code boundary file on its community area boundary file.
  • Timing. The files place a resident in the week the shot is dated. The share dated by a Saturday is the running count for the week ending that day divided by the season’s final count. The department’s January brief describes its figures the same way, as doses administered through Dec. 31, 2025 that were recorded in the registry as of Jan. 14, 2026.
  • The survey. Healthy Chicago Survey results are from the Chicago Health Atlas indicator named Adult flu vaccination rate, retrieved September 30, 2026. Margins are 1.96 times the published standard errors. A ZIP code’s survey figure is the average of its community areas’ combined 2023 and 2024 estimates, weighted by the land each shares with the ZIP code. Those community-area estimates carry standard errors of 2.5 to 7.6 points, so the match is rough.
  • Official pages. Quotations from the department’s pages and from its January 2026 data brief are word for word as they stood on September 30, 2026. Clinic hours are as listed that day.
  • What we did not do. We did not estimate how many residents were in fact vaccinated, compare the current season with last year’s at the same week, or attribute any difference between groups or places to a cause.

Computed by KCM Desk from Chicago Department of Public Health files and pages read September 30, 2026. Human-guided and edited — about this desk. If you spot an error, corrections come first.

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