More US children have died this flu season than any other in last 15 years. What this means for Arizona kids
According to state officials, there have been 5 influenza-associated pediatric deaths this flu season
PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — More children have died this flu season in the United States than in any other over the last 15 years.
Data in the newest report from the CDC shows at least 216 child flu deaths across the country this influenza season. That includes five in Arizona, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Health officials say those numbers could change and won’t be official until the fall. Doctors say there are a few factors at play here, but a big one is fewer children are getting flu shots. The flu vaccination rate in kids in the U.S. was 64% about five years ago; now it’s 49%.
While the season is winding down, Arizona’s Family spoke to the division chief of infectious diseases at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Dr. Wassim Ballan, who said now is the time parents should start planning for next year.
“This is a vaccine that is going to be coming up every year,” he said. “As a parent, start asking those questions around the vaccine now.”
Dr. Ballan says this will ensure families are prepared before they get sick.
While flu shot effectiveness varies year-to-year, the CDC recommends everyone six months or older get a flu shot. Dr. Ballan wants to remind parents the goal of the flu shot is not to make your child totally immune; however, if they catch influenza, their illness would likely be much milder, and it can prevent hospitalizations and death.
The season has not only been hard on children. CDC officials have described it as “highly severe” and estimate that so far there have been at least 47 million illnesses, 610,000 hospitalizations and 26,000 deaths this season.
CDC officials have information about underlying conditions on nearly 5,200 adults who were hospitalized with flu this season, and 95% had at least one existing health problem. But among 2,000 hospitalized children with more detailed health information, only about 53% had an underlying condition — including asthma and obesity.
The CDC report did not say how many of the children who died were vaccinated. The agency did not make an expert available to talk about the flu season.
Good news is that flu indicators have been waning since February, and last week, all 50 states were reporting low or minimal flu activity.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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