As the 2024–2025 flu season begins, new data on pediatric deaths from flu last season showed that 202 children died from flu-related causes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This number marks the highest number of deaths from flu in children since the 2009–2010 flu season, when 288 children died from flu-related illness. Since then, the highest number—until last season—was recorded in 2019–2020, when 199 children reportedly died from the flu.
In recent weeks, the CDC has provided updates on the number of pediatric flu-related deaths in 2023–2024. On September 13, 2024, when these pediatric deaths totaled 199, a CDC report noted that about 73 (or 37%) of the total 199 children were younger than 5 years old. Among the 189 children whose health status was known, just under half (49% or 93 children) reportedly had a pre-existing medical condition, such as asthma, neurologic disease, obesity or heart disease.
Low rates of flu vaccination among eligible children
Getting vaccinated for the flu is especially important for children because they are at higher risk for serious flu complications. Flu vaccination has been shown to lower the risk of illness and other events due to the flu in children—such as getting sick from the flu, missing school days and doctor’s visits. It’s also been shown to reduce the risk for flu-related hospitalizations and death in children.
In February 2024, the CDC reported that children who received 2023–2024 flu vaccines were between 46% to 59% less likely to see a doctor due to the flu, and 46% to 56% less likely to require hospitalization for flu-related illness.
Among those children who died of the flu last season, 158 children were eligible to get a flu vaccine and had a known vaccination status. Of those, about 131—or 83%—had not been fully vaccinated for the flu.
This reflects a trend toward lower vaccination rates among children in the 2023–2024 flu season compared to previous seasons. Flu vaccination rates in children with at least 1 dose of flu vaccine was 2.0 percentage points lower in 2023–2024 than in the 2022–2023 season (55.4% vs. 57.4%). It was also 8.3 percentage points below pre-pandemic flu vaccination in children over the 2019–2020 flu season (55.4% vs 63.7%). (Children who are at least 6 months old and younger than 9 years old are initially given 2 doses of flu vaccine at least 4 weeks apart. After that, they should receive a single dose of a flu vaccine in following flu seasons.)
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine every year, with rare exceptions. Getting a flu shot by the end of October can help protect kids against the flu and serious complications as flu cases begin to rise over the flu season. However, getting vaccinated later in the flu season can still provide protection against the flu. If you have questions about what flu vaccine is right for your child, talk to your pediatrician.
