Even though flu season has just gotten started, we can sadly already report the first flu deaths in kids.
This follows reports of 199 flu deaths in kids during last year’s flu season.
The Kids Who Have Already Died From the Flu This Season
In addition to the young girl in El Paso with no underlying health conditions who died, other deaths in kids this flu season include:
an elementary school-aged child outside the Denver metro area
an 11-year-old previously healthy child in San Diego, California
a 6-month-old with complex medical conditions in San Diego, California
an infant under 6 months old with underlying medical conditions in San Bernardino County, California
So, that’s five flu deaths in kids, with no evidence that any of them were vaccinated.
Or, if they were too young to be vaccinated, that their mother received a flu vaccine while pregnant.
What else?
Know that most kids who die from having the flu are not fully vaccinated.
What about flu deaths in kids who are unvaccinated?
Another study, Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Against Pediatric Deaths: 2010–2014, broke down the deaths by unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, and fully vaccinated.
What did they find?
Most of the deaths, nearly 75%, were in children that were completely unvaccinated. Another 5% were partially vaccinated.
Plus, we know that flu vaccination, over the past ten flu seasons, has been associated with an estimated 80% reduction in the risk of influenza-associated death!
All good reasons to get your kids a flu vaccine each year.