United States: As per the last available data, indicated by the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children have only received flu shots and this is a meager 33 percent.
More about the news
Overall, as of November 30, children’s vaccination coverage with at least one dose of flu vaccine stands at 37 percent compared to 43 percent of children who had received flu vaccination by the same time last year.
Among the adult population, 39 percent had availed flu vaccinations; this was almost the same as of the previous year.
Overall coverage of flu vaccination, the CDC also mentioned, had been increasing before the COVID-19 pandemic but declined at that time and, more importantly, have not recovered to their pre-COVID level.
High-risk populations consisting of those persons 65 years of age and above, children under the age of 2 years, pregnant women, and individuals with compromised immune systems should be of particular concern, according to the same source.
"Flu vaccination rates ‘concerningly’ low among US kids, health officials warn" – Fox News #SmartNews well, why do you suppose that is? Seems people have decided that they don’t want any more deception! https://t.co/vrat1e3Pu1
— Emilyjo Collins (@EmilyJCollins10) December 16, 2024
It is also now considered high risk for those who have any underlying disease such as heart disease, lung diseases or asthma, neurologic conditions or disorders, liver disease, blood disorders, kidney conditions, and metabolic disorders.
What more are the experts stating?
According to Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, “This is a very disturbing trend and is part of a larger trend of decreasing vaccine uptake among young populations,” Fox News reported.
“It is looking to be a bad flu season, including among young children,” the doctor alarmed.
Dr. Jacob Glanville, the CEO of a biotechnology company in San Francisco called Centivax, said that the trend of decreasing rates is “concerning.”
Some children may have a fear of needles; in that case, there is the FluMist nasal spray for flu immunization for children 2 years and older, shared Summer Kerley, GVP of pharmacy growth and clinical programs at Rite Aid, Pennsylvania-based.