Iowa kids' flu shots lag as "very high" illness rate hits the state
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Kids' flu shots are lagging compared to last year amid what's shaping up to be a historically nasty influenza season tied to the so-called "super flu."
Driving the news: Uptake among kids aged 6 months to 17 years is down 1.5 percentage points nationally as of Jan. 3 compared to the same time last year, per the CDC's latest data.
By the numbers: Oklahoma (+31 percentage points) and South Carolina (+14.6) are among the handful of states notably outperforming last season's childhood flu vaccination rates as of Jan. 3.
- Rates are notably down compared to last season so far in Rhode Island (-16) and Tennessee (-14.4).
Zoom in: Iowa's is down 3.2 percentage points, to 43.2%.
State of play: Iowa's overall flu activity is very high, according to the latest weekly report from the Iowa Health and Human Services.
- More than 10 schools in the state had at least 10% illness, per the report.