Flu vaccines drop among kids despite record deaths last year: CDC

Fewer children in the U.S. have gotten a flu vaccine in 2024 compared to last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

As of Nov. 30, about 36 percent of the nation’s children aged six months to 17 years received a flu vaccination, a drop from last year’s 43 percent. 

These numbers could change because roughly 10 percent of children had a parent report they intend to get their child vaccinated, and about 14 percent had a parent say they will probably get their child vaccinated against the flu, according to the CDC.  

The 2023-24 flu season was particularly deadly — the CDC reported 205 children died from the disease, the most since the COVID-19 pandemic.  

CDC officials believe that the total childhood death toll from the flu last year is likely higher because many of those deaths are underreported.  

“Not all children whose death was related to an influenza virus infection may have been tested for influenza,” a CDC memo from Nov. 22 reads.  

The memo adds that officials estimate that an additional 521 children died last year from the flu, bumping the total to 724.  

Flu vaccinations can change and are designed to protect against influenza viruses that research shows will be most common during the upcoming fall and winter months when the virus is more easily spread.  

This flu season vaccines will be “trivalent” meaning they will offer protection against three influenza virus, according to the CDC.  

Those viruses are the A(H1N1) virus, an influenza A(H3N2) virus and an influenza B/Victoria virus.

The level of protection a flu vaccine provides varies every year. Between 2009 and 2024, flu vaccinations were 19 to 60 percent effective in protecting against variants of the virus, CDC data show.  

“Any death of a child is concerning…whether it’s one or one hundred,” said Raynard Washington, a physician and public health director in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County.

Washington has noticed an uptick in respiratory illnesses, including the flu, among children in the Charlotte area.

“It’s really important that we take advantage of every tool we have available in our toolbox to help prevent illness in our communities,” he said about vaccination.

Updated: 4:29 p.m.