More than 900 Californians – including 15 children – have succumbed to the flu this season in what turned out to be one of the Worse increase respiratory disease for years, according to a Report published Friday by California Department of Public Health.
Most victims of the flu – 701 – were over 64, which follows the conventional concept that the disease disproportionately affects the elderly.
However, the number of deceased children raised concerns. Four other children died of the flu during the week ending on February 15, increasing the number of seasonal pediatric deaths by more than a third, according to the report.
Regarding COVID-19, “we simply thought of the elderly as sick,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, specialist in the infectious division and professor of medicine at UC San Francisco. “We have to reset with the flu. Because with the flu, it is not only the very old, it is also the very young. And they can hurt a lot. ”
The 15 children who died of the flu this season include Four teenagers from San Diego. None of the teenagers – aged 14, 15, 16 and 17, had received influenza vaccines, according to health officials.
“These recent deaths against the flu among our young people are tragic and concerning when we are heading in what is historically the summit of the flu season,” said Dr Ankita Kadakia this month, manager of the acting public health at the County of San Diego.
Vaccination rates have decreased, especially in children, for flu and other ailments, according to the HEM.
Nationally, Approximately 58% of Children aged 6 months and 17 were vaccinated against flu during the 2020-20 season
“In the world of vaccines, it's like falling from a cliff,” said Chin-Hong.
The trend is similar in California: 47.7% of children were vaccinated against flu at the end of January, the lowest since at least the flu season 2019-20. Last year at that time, 53.7% of children were vaccinated against flu.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends to everyone 6 months or more obtain a flu vaccine – ideally by the end of October to stimulate protection against disease during the high -movement winter months.
The two types of influenza which generally circulate are H1N1 – linked to the deformation of the porcine flu which caused a flu pandemic In 2009 and 2010 – and H3N2, which “is known to simply cause a more serious disease in general”, Chin -Hong said previously.
Given the power of this flu season, officials say that those who have not yet been vaccinated should consider doing so.
Although the influenza activity remains high, it can decrease. The recent report of California public health officials shows a 3.4% drop in the rate at which the flu tests made positive results in state -of -the -week Sentinel clinical laboratories ending on February 15, the most recent for which complete data is available.
However, the test rate of tests is an election of 23.3%. The COVVI-19 and RSV activity is low, said health officials, with positivity rates of 2.3% and 5%, respectively.
Chin-Hong said it is not yet clear if the downward trend will be held.
“I think it is too early to celebrate,” he said, adding that more data points are needed.
The flu-like flu season typically Summits between December and FebruaryAlthough the virus spreads all year round, according to the CDC.
Even if it is in decline, the virus is known to have an extended season, said Chin-Hong. It can take place until April and sometimes later in the year.
“It's not just the summit that worries us,” said Chin-Hong. “It is also the extent of what is happening this year.”
There were around 500 deaths last season due to the flu at that time, and 600 the previous year, Mercury News reported.
Chin-Hong believes that he has not seen a number of deaths like that season in a decade.
The staff editor Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.
