Flu deaths in the US are up more than 65% so far in 2020, with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that 4,800 people had died and 87,000 people had been hospitalised during the 2019-2020 flu season. ABC News reports that of those deaths, 32 were children, a group that's particularly vulnerable to the flu and its complications.
During recent past flu seasons, deaths among children have ranged from 37 to 187 fatalities.
The report says as of right now, 2019-2020 flu activity is primarily being driven by influenza B/Victoria viruses, which is unusual for this time of year. In general, influenza B is more common in children, while influenza A, also known as H1N1, is more commonly seen in older adults, according to Dr Jessica Grayson, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"The flu season began early this year and took off aggressively," said Dr. William Schaffner, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
"It began prominently in the southeastern states, but quickly spread," he said. "So far, there is no sign that the momentum of the annual epidemic is slowing."
Many mistakenly believe that the flu vaccine doesn't work or has side effects. (Apart from soreness at the needle's injection site, there are no notable side effects linked to the flu vaccine.)
In part because of these misconceptions, only half of Americans reported that they planned to get the flu vaccine this year, according to a survey conducted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
In addition to the flu vaccine, there are four Food and Drug Administration-approved antiviral drugs that the CDC recommends.
[link url="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/1300-people-died-flu-year/story?id=67754182"]ABC News report[/link]