Low Flu Vaccination Rates Among CA Children Worry Experts

CALIFORNIA — Only about 37.2 percent of kids in California have gotten seasonal influenza vaccinations, a worrisome national trend among health officials after a record 205 U.S. children — and likely many times more — died of the flu last year.

As of Nov. 30, just over a third (37 percent) of U.S. kids 17 and younger had gotten flu shots, compared with 43 percent at the same time last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In California, 47.4 percent of children had gotten flu shots by this time in 2023. The CDC recommends flu shots for everyone 6 months of age or older. Flu can be more dangerous than a common cold for children under 5, and especially so for kids under 2.

The CDC expects hospitalizations for flu and COVID-19 to start increasing in the coming weeks, and says vaccinations are the best way to avoid severe illnesses. It takes about two weeks for the flu shot to take full effect.

Seasonal influenza rates are ticking up but remain low nationally, according to the CDC’s latest surveillance data.

Activity is high in California as of the week ending Dec. 7, according to the CDC. So far this season, 72 deaths have been attributed to the flu. Most of those deaths were among people 64 or older, but the state recently recorded its first pediatric flu death of the season.

Health officials are urging people to get their flu shots ahead of the holiday season. California’s flu spike is outpacing national trends. Health officials say the holiday season — with its indoor gatherings, travel and higher stress — is likely to lead to a further uptick in the spread of respiratory illnesses.

The flu-test positivity rate increased to 9.1 percent in California during the first week of December, the most recent period of time for which the California Department of Public Health released data.

COVID-19 continues to be the most deadly respiratory virus: The state has recorded 1,818 deaths attributed to the virus this season, the data shows. All three respiratory viruses peak in the winter, and health officials say it's important to prevent infection.

“Vaccines lower your chances of serious illness, helping to make sure you and your loved ones can gather safely during the winter holidays," CDPH Director Dr. Tomás J. Aragón said.

The CDC said that while 200 pediatric deaths were confirmed for the 2023-24 influenza season, as many as 724 children may have died of the flu. Not all children who die are tested for the flu, according to the government health agency.

Health officials said the low vaccination rates — only about 55 percent of kids ended up getting their shots last year — and an exceptionally long flu season combined to make it a particularly deadly one for children.

With adults included, about 28,000 people died from the flu during the 2023-24 season. Flu vaccination rates among adults ticked up the first year of the pandemic, but have since declined. The last time vaccine coverage was this low among adults was the 2017-18 season, according to the CDC.