Last winter's flu season featured two waves, each dominated by a different virus. Both flu bugs are considered dangerous to children, and it was a very bad flu season for kids.
Health officials reported 185 U.S. flu deaths in children this past flu season, the second highest total in a decade. And officials believe that because of reporting lags, additional cases may still come in.
Most of the children who died were not vaccinated. But how well the vaccine performs in kids remains a large concern.
A Type B flu strain ended up causing most early season illnesses and the bulk of illnesses in children over the entire winter, Flannery said. The vaccine was about 39% effective against that strain in children.
But the vaccine did an awful job against the Type A H1N1 strain that caused the second wave of illnesses. Protection was so low in kids ages 6 months to 17 years that—statistically speaking—it couldn't be counted as working at all.
The vaccine's performance was down in adults, too, and health officials don't know exactly why. It may be due to changes in the virus, Flannery said. Health officials have changed the components of what's in the flu shot this year, in what they hope will be a better match against whatever flu strains circulate this fall and winter, he said. End quote
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Interesting. Perhaps a precursor to any covid19 that may come about. If this is what happened with the "Normal" flu, what's to become of the current virus. Chilling to think about.
