The proportion of children receiving flu vaccinations is still falling, despite the fact that a record number of youngsters died from the illness last year.
As of Nov. 30, little over a third of American children (37%), compared to 43% at the same time last year, had received flu vaccinations, according to a data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.
Pediatricians are concerned about the declining trend because flu cases are beginning to rise.
Dr. Kristina Bryant, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Norton Children’s in Louisville, Kentucky, said, “I always feel a little bit of dread when flu season is around the corner because children suffer from illness and suffering during that time, and a lot of that can be prevented through vaccination.”
According to Alicia Budd, leader of the CDC’s domestic influenza monitoring team, just over half of children, or 55%, received the flu vaccination during the 2023–24 season, the lowest percentage in 12 years.

According to Budd, “Flu coverage had been gradually increasing” prior to the Covid outbreak. “Pre-pandemic levels of flu vaccination have not been reached.”
The two primary strains of the virus that are now in circulation, H1N1 and H3N2, are covered by this year’s flu vaccination.
According to Budd, children might be at risk from any type of flu. As of right now, she stated, “we are not seeing anything that would indicate that this season would be any different.”
According to a preliminary analysis published in October, the efficacy of flu vaccinations in preventing hospitalization for children aged 5 and under may be on the lower end of the spectrum, at only 39%. The vaccine from the previous year was thought to have a 61% success rate in keeping children out of the hospital.
Despite its flaws, the flu vaccination is safe and beneficial, according to physician Dr. Michelle Taylor, who serves as the health officer for the Shelby County Health Department in Memphis, Tennessee.
“That shot gives the best chance of having a much easier course of illness than if you had not been vaccinated at all,” Taylor stated, even if you are exposed and tested positive for the flu.

“The worst feeling I’ve ever had”
Before becoming ill in October, Kaitlyn Covert, a student at the University of Florida, had neglected to schedule her flu vaccination. With school canceled and Hurricane Milton churning off the coast of Florida, Covert and her pals were organizing parties.
That is, until a pounding headache struck, according to 18-year-old Covert. She couldn’t reach for the ibuprofen on her bedside table because she was too weak.
“It ached to breathe. “It hurt to cough,” she stated. “It was the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life.” She was diagnosed with the flu after visiting the school urgent care clinic.
Although Covert eventually healed, her family members were beginning to worry. Kaitlyn’s 4-year-old cousin had passed away from the flu 20 years prior.
According to her mother, Amy, “I was in panic mode.” “Is it true that lightning strikes twice?” Last year’s flu season was especially dangerous for youngsters, as 205 of them passed away, the most since the epidemic began.
However, since not all children who pass away are tested for the flu, the actual number of flu-related mortality among children may be far greater. In a statement on its website on Nov. 22, the CDC projected that 724 pediatric flu fatalities may have happened in the previous year.
Two possible causes are an abnormally lengthy flu season and fewer flu vaccines.
In certain seasons, there is a rapid peak followed by a swift decline. “There are longer and more drawn-out seasons,” Budd remarked. “Unfortunately, there were more opportunities for children to become infected because last year was longer.”
This year, who needs the flu shot?
Everyone six months of age and older should get a flu vaccination every year, according to the CDC.
That’s one shot for most. Children who have only had one vaccination could require two, spaced four weeks apart, in order to be deemed completely immunized.
“We know that children who were eligible for a flu vaccine but weren’t fully vaccinated accounted for over 80% of the reported influenza-associated pediatric deaths last season,” Budd stated. “It serves as yet another reminder of the significance of vaccination.”
Because of their family history, the Coverts ardently advocate for flu vaccines.According to Amy Covert, “this is not a gray area.” “The shot is meant to keep you alive.”