The CDC Says Child Flu Deaths Reached Concerning Highs Last Year

The 2024-2025 flu season is upon us, and experts are staying vigilant about this year's cases in kids. That's because nearly 200 children died from the flu last season, according to disturbing new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That coincided with concerning drops in vaccination rates in the country, health officials said.

Of the 158 children who were eligible for the flu vaccine, 131 (or 83%) were not fully vaccinated, per the CDC. "Vaccinations probably could have saved half of these children," says Mark Hicar, M.D., Ph.D ., chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in New York.

This is one of the worst annual flu death totals in children in a season, matching the 199 deaths during the 2019-2020 season. The highest number of deaths in children was 288 during the 2009-2010 season, which was during the height of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

The CDC report also noted that flu vaccine use in children was "lagging" compared to previous seasons. Last season, flu vaccine uptake was 2.2 percentage points lower than the season before and 8.5 percentage points lower compared to coverage before the COVID-19 pandemic . Ultimately, just 53.9% of kids received the flu vaccine last season.

Meet the experts: Mark Hicar, M.D., Ph.D ., chief of pediatric infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in New York; William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; Gina Posner, M.D., a pediatrician at MemorialCare Medical Group in Fountain Valley, CA; Ian Michelow, M.D., division head of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology at Connecticut Children's Medical Center

The news is disturbing, and it raises a lot of questions about flu vaccines, especially as we head into another cold and flu season. Here's what doctors want you to know.

Can kids get the flu shot?

Yes, kids can get the flu shot, although the process can be slightly different in younger children. "If your child is under 9 years old and is receiving the flu vaccine for the first time ever, they need two flu shots, separated by a month," says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Why? Researchers discovered that children who received their first flu shot under the age of 9 didn't have as strong of an immune response, so it's now given in two parts, explains Gina Posner, M.D., a pediatrician at MemorialCare Medical Group in Fountain Valley, CA. (If your child has already had two vaccines, they are fine to just have one now, Dr. Posner says.)

"Even if your child only had one dose one year and one dose another year, they'll only need one that third year," Dr. Posner says. (Of course, if you're unsure, talk to your child's pediatrician.)

As for when to get the vaccine, it's usually recommended that you try to get vaccinated by the end of October. "Generally, vaccines are still recommended if you miss the optimum window until the end of the season," Dr. Hicar says. "So, if you miss the window, still pursue a vaccine."

Who should get the annual flu shot?

The CDC recommends that all people aged 6 months and up get a flu vaccine.

Kids may have two options for the vaccine: A standard shot or nasal spray flu vaccine , a.k.a. FluMist. The FluMist vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine (meaning, it's a weakened form of the virus) and it's approved for use in healthy, non-pregnant people ages 2 through 49.

How effective is the annual flu shot?

The effectiveness of the annual flu shot changes from year to year. That's because the shot is tweaked annually to try to match influenza variants that researchers think will be the most common in the coming season, Dr. Schaffner explains.

During the 2023-2024 flu season, the vaccine was 42% effective at preventing the flu, according to CDC data . The season before that, it was 30% effective. The most effective the flu vaccine has been in recent history was during the 2010-2011 season, when it was 60% effective.

But regardless of whether the vaccine keeps someone from getting the flu, the vaccine is still highly effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death, Dr. Schaffner says.

"It's important to remember that the vast majority of those children who were hospitalized and died from influenza last season never had the influenza vaccine," Dr. Schaffner says. "About half who died and were hospitalized were normal, healthy children."

Ian Michelow, M.D., division head of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, agrees that the flu vaccine is more effective than the numbers make it seem. "Parents will say that 50% to 60% isn't very effective but it really is," he says. "Not only does it prevent severe disease, it prevents other complications like ear infections. The overall impact is very big."

Where to get the annual flu shot

Many younger children will need to get the annual flu shot at a doctor's office or local health department due to state regulations. "A lot of pharmacies won't give flu vaccines until a child is at least 3," Dr. Posner says. However, she notes that some pharmacies will give the vaccine to children aged 6 months and up—you'll just need to check in advance.

Overall, doctors stress the importance of vaccinating kids against the flu. "It's a nasty virus that can affect even healthy children," Dr. Schaffner says. "Therefore, all should be vaccinated." Dr. Michelow agrees. "It can be inconvenient and children don't like getting shots, but the vaccine has been shown to be very effective," he says.

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