The disease control and prevention centers (CDC) have identified 216 pediatric deaths linked to flu, so far, exceeding 207 deaths recorded last year. This is the heaviest assessment since the 2009-2010 season, marked by the world pandemic of H1N1 flu.
And this figure could still climb: the grippal season is still in progress. The final data for 2023-2024 had only been published in the fall.
“The current figure is most certainly underestimated, and it will increase as the season ends and all the data will be compiled,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Colorado and member of the American Pediatric Academy.
According to him, several factors can explain the severity of the current season, but the main one is the drop in the vaccination rate in children. In five years, it has gone from around 64 % to only 49 %.
Even if flu vaccines do not always prevent the appearance of symptoms, research shows that they are very effective in avoiding hospitalizations and deaths, recalls Mr. O’Leary.
Adults are not exempt
The season was not difficult for children. CDC officials describe it as “highly serious”: so far, it would have caused some 47 million cases, 610,000 hospitalizations and 26,000 deaths nationwide.
CDCs were able to say that nearly 5,200 hospitalized adults had an underlying medical condition, and that 95 % of them had at least one health problem. On the other hand, among the 2000 hospitalized children whose medical records were more detailed, only 53 % suffered from pre -existing conditions, such as asthma or obesity.
-The CDC report does not specify how many deceased children had been vaccinated, and the agency did not make experts available in order to comment on the situation.
However, there is a glimmer of hope: since February, influenza surveillance indicators have been decreasing, and last week the 50 US states reported a low or minimal influenza activity.
This season has been distinguished by a greater diversity of the influenza strains in circulation. Two strains of type A virus – H1N1 and H3N2 – have particularly circulated, but the data published earlier this year suggest that influenza vaccines are rather effective in preventing deaths and hospitalizations.
CDCs therefore continue to recommend annual vaccination against flu for anyone aged six months and more.
The drop in the vaccination rate in children is part of a worrying trend. In addition to online disinformation and controversies linked to COVVI-19 vaccines, certain political leaders, such as Robert F. Kennedy son, today secretary of health, have taken over their accounts from anti-vaccinity movements.
But other more concrete factors can also be taken into account, according to Dr. O’Leary. Many pediatric firms are facing a staff shortage and organize fewer vaccination sessions outside of office hours. In addition, although pharmacies are vaccinating more and more Americans, some do not vaccinate children.
“I hope this season will serve as a alarm signal and remind us how important it is to vaccinate our children against flu,” concluded Sean O’Leary.
