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Last year was nearly 80,000 flu-related deaths and the highest hospitalization rate for the virus in modern history. But new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are giving us a clearer idea of just how bad it is.
A report from the CDC published this week that the immunization coverage among adults during the 2017-18 flu season was at 37.1 percent, down 6.2 percentage points from the previous season and for the lowest rate of vaccination coverage since the 2010-2011 season . It estimates that 48.8 million people came down with the flu, with 959,000 hospitalizations and 79,000 deaths.
What's more, the CDC said it was particularly "atypical" in that it was severe for people of all ages.
The burden of influenza and the rates of influenza-associated hospitalization for the very young, and while this was also true during the 2017-2018 season, rates of hospitalization in all age groups were the highest. since hospital-based surveillance was expanded in 2005 to include all ages.
The 2017-2018 flu season was record-breaking on several fronts. In addition to the extraordinarily high numbers of hospitalizations, the latest edition of the CDC adopted its current surveillance method.
While the data builds on a previous report from September, the estimates released in the last years of the season, particularly as it relates to the number of those sickened and more hospitalized figures.
"Last year was just a horrible season," Daniel Jernigan, head of the CDC's influenza division, said during a media call last month. "It was just a tremendous amount of disease."
The CDC said it was estimated to be the largest in the world. Infection in children, 30 million cases of influenza in working-age adults (ages 18-64), and more than 7.3 million cases in adults 65 years of age or older.
The CDC does not know what it is, what it says does not show decreases in flu vaccinations. It also noted that the limitations of its survey included "reliance on self-report of vaccination status and decreasing response rates." Despite possible data limitations, however, the CDC said that immunization coverage among adults remains low.
"As the 2018-19 season is underway, it is important that providers prioritize flu vaccination for their patients," the CDC said. "This includes client referrals when the vaccine is available, assessing the vaccination status at every visit, making an effective recommendation for vaccination, and offering the vaccine."
What this should be, and what can we do? While we can not be 100 percent sure of the last year, it's worth it that it's worth it to get a flu shot.
[CDC via Washington Post]Source link
