CDC: Flu-related deaths in children on the rise
By: Eduardo Cuevas
USA Today
..... The nation recored one of its worst totals for children deaths from the flu this past season, [2024] coinciding with troubling drops in U.S. vaccination rates, federal health officials warned.
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Nearly 200 children died from influenza-related complications in the 2023-2024 season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials announced the data after two children died in early September. [2024]
..... The season;s death toll of 199 matched that of the 2019-2020 flu season, the CDC said. Most of the children were eligible for a vaccine but did not receive one.
..... "It's hard to watch," said Dr. Paul Offit, head of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "There was a way to prevent this."
..... Officials must contend with misinformation and hesitancy around vaccines that took hold with COVID-19, Offit said. The pandemic also disrupted regular doctor visits, when children may have received routine vaccines.
..... Children younger than 5, as well as children with certain underlying conditions, face greater risk of complications such as bronchitis or pneumonia from the flu. among the 189 deaths with known information on medical conditions, 93 or 49% had at least one preexisting condition. There were 73 deaths among children younger than 5.
..... The
deaths coincide with drops in vaccination. As of May 11, [2024] just over 53% of children 6 months to 17 years had gotten their annual flu shot, which was lower than the prior season's 56%, when there were 187 deaths. About 62% of children were vaccinated in 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
..... Vaccination rates seem to be worsening among certain groups. Less than half of Black children received their annual flu shot and slightly more than half of white children did, compared to nearly 60% of Hispanic children and nearly 59% of children listed as "Other," CDC data showed. Les than 40% of children in rural areas receive their annual dose, compared by nearly 60% in urban areas and nearly 54% in suburbs.
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The highest flu death toll the CDC has recorded was 288 children in the 2009-2010 season, at the height of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
..... The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu shot. A 2022 study found that they were increasingly effective against the most life-threatening forms of disease.
..... "A lot of this is preventable," said Dr. Adrienne Randolph, the study's senior author and a critical care physician at Boston Children's Hospital. "It's really important that parents go get their kids vaccinated."
..... Other factors with flu, such as longer-term issues from serious respiratory illness and missed school days, also affect children and families.
..... Randolph recommended families start planning their annual flu shot in October. [2024] It's easier now that pharmacies and free clinics administer vaccines.
..... More deaths and lower vaccination means more work needs to be done, said Michele Slafkosky, director of Families Fighting Flu, a nonprofit founded by parents whose children died from flu complications. The organization has fought to include universal flu vaccine recommendations, improve vaccine confidence and make families aware of options for annual shots.