Out of the estimated 16,000 deaths from the current flu season, over 100 children have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In their most recent Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, which covered news from the week ending on February 15, the CDC estimated that 105 children had died from the flu so far.
Out of the 105 pediatric mortalities, the majority of the deaths were associated with the influenza B virus, which is the most commonly reported influenza virus among children and young adults age 0-24.
Although the 2019-2020 flu season has yet to end, mortalities have “been low” overall, according to the CDC, which estimates that there have been 29 million cases of the flu since Sept. 29, when they start tracking data.
Influenza-associated pediatric deaths in recent years have topped the current estimate for the 2019-2020 season. During the 2018-2019 season there were 144 pediatric deaths, while the previous season there were 188. There were also 110 pediatric deaths during the 2016-2017 season.
The CDC went on to note that while hospitalization rates overall “remain similar” to previous seasons, “rates among children and young adults are higher at this time.”
There have been an estimated 280,000 hospitalizations overall, with the highest rate being among adults over the age of 65 followed by children between the ages of 0 and 4.
The current season, which started “atypically” early, has hit children particularly hard.
According to experts, the main problem has been that this flu season is led by influenza B, which is less common overall than influenza A, so people likely have built up fewer antibodies to fight it — which is particularly true for children, who have had less exposure overall to all strains.
“It’s relatively common that we start the season with influenza A, and the influenza B season comes later,” Richard J. Webby, Ph.D., a researcher with the Department of Infectious Disease at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, previously told PEOPLE.
Although Webby also said that the flu vaccine this year is “not ideally matched” to this strain of influenza B, the CDC has estimated that flu vaccines reduced doctor’s visits by 55 percent in children and 45 percent overall this season.
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