Fewer kids are getting their flu shots so far this year
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Childhood flu vaccination is down so far this season in every state but Iowa, per new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Why it matters: Flu shots can help prevent kids from getting sick, but they appear to be getting swept up in a broader wave of vaccine skepticism that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The CDC reported 200 pediatric flu-related deaths in the 2023-24 season — a record high for a non-pandemic flu year.
Driving the news: Nationally, childhood flu vaccine coverage is down 7.1 percentage points as of Nov. 30 compared to the same time last year.
- 36.6% of kids nationwide have their flu shots for the 2024-25 season so far, compared to 43.7% at this point last season.
- 53.8% of kids got their flu shot by the end of the 2023-24 season, the CDC says. That's down from 62.4% in 2019-20.
Zoom: Childhood flu vaccine coverage is up 6.5 percentage points in Iowa, where 51% of kids are vaccinated so far.
- The biggest drop is in Idaho (-18.8 percentage points), where only 15% of kids have their flu shots yet this season.
How it works: These figures are among kids aged six months to 17 years.
- No data was available for Arizona or Mississippi.
Between the lines: These numbers are in line with a national rise in vaccine exemptions among kindergartners, suggesting increasing vaccine skepticism among parents pretty much nationwide.
What's next: Public health experts worry President-elect Trump's pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could further erode confidence in many vaccines that have proved safe and effective, as Axios' Maya Goldman and Tina Reed report.
