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A Florida child died of the flu, marking the first pediatric death of the 2018-2019 influenza season, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Although the ministry did not disclose the name, age, sex or location of the child, it was not vaccinated before having contracted the flu.
The child died between September 30 and October 6, according to the ministry.
Although the exact timing of flu season may vary, it usually starts around October and chokes around May. While the last season was particularly brutal in the United States, the flu virus is unpredictable and the current season could be very different, according to experts.
The 2017-2018 season, which was equal to or above the epidemic threshold of the CDC, was responsible for the deaths of about 80,000 people, including 180 children, according to the CDC.
The number of deaths from influenza in adults is often estimated because of the number of cases. Although the deaths of children are reported to the health departments, they are not always accurate because the flu is not always listed as the leading cause of death.
Dr. Jerome Adams, a general surgeon, said most of the children who died of the flu last year were not vaccinated.
In Florida alone, during the last influenza season, nearly 9,000 adults died of pneumonia and influenza and eight influenza-related pediatric deaths were reported, according to the Department of Health's Influenza # 39; State. None of the children who died in that state had been vaccinated against influenza.
And the rate of vaccinated children appears to have declined across the country last season compared to previous seasons, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
In the 2015-2016 season, approximately 59.3% of children aged 6 months to 17 years were vaccinated against influenza, reported NFID. Last season, 57.9% of children in the same age group were vaccinated.
This year, doctors are working to create a more effective vaccine that will protect against H3N2 and three other influenza strains. The vaccine last year was only 25% effective against the H3N2 flu virus, the most common and the deadliest.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that, no matter how effective the vaccine is, everyone should still be vaccinated.
"It's the best way to protect yourself against the disease, to not have to see a doctor, to be hospitalized and, in children, to prevent death," said Dr. Dan Jernigan, director of flu division at CDC.
Although the Florida child who died of the flu is the first reported minor to succumb to the disease this year, about 30 adults died of the flu in September, the New York Times reported.
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