CDC: Flu deaths in children reach troubling highs amid drops in vaccinations (USA Today)

The nation recorded one of its worst totals for child deaths from the flu this past season, coinciding with troubling drops in U.S. vaccination rates, federal health officials warned.

Nearly 200 children died from influenza-related complications in the 2023-24 season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials announced the death count last week after two children died in early September.

The season’s death toll of 199 matches the 2019-20 flu season, CDC said. The highest death toll recorded was 288 children who died from the flu in the 2009-10 season, at the height of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

Most of the 199 total children who died from the virus were eligible for a vaccine but did not receive one. Studies have shown that annual flu vaccines, while not foolproof against infection, are effective against serious illness.

Read full article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2024/09/18/flu-deaths-children-cdc/75266108007/