American Academy of Pediatrics releases updated guidance ahead of flu season

With back-to-school season in full swing, it’s just a matter of time before kids start bringing home all the sniffles that come with being back in a large group in indoor spaces again—and that means that flu season is fast approaching. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released its guidance for parents on the upcoming 2024-2025 flu season, and their statement highlights a scary statistic: Not only did childhood flu vaccination rates fall during the 2023-2024 season, but pediatric flu deaths reached their highest point since the 2019-2020 season.

The flu is most prevalent in children, since they’ve had the least exposure to the virus, and kids younger than 5 are most likely to experience complications or be hospitalized — especially if they have any underlying medical conditions that can worsen their symptoms.

“A lot of the suffering we saw last year could have been prevented or at least lessened in severity by immunizing more kids with influenza vaccine,” Kristina A. Bryant, MD, FAAP, a member of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases (COID) and lead author of the flu policy statement and technical report, told Parents. “Some parents may not realize that influenza can cause severe or life-threatening infections, even in healthy children, and that flu vaccines can prevent the most serious complications of flu.”

One of the biggest takeaways from the AAP’s statement is that this year’s flu vaccine is trivalent, meaning it protects against three different strains of flu. So who should get vaccinated and when? Here’s the breakdown:

• All children over 6 months old should get vaccinated if they don’t have an allergy or another medical reason to avoid the vaccine.
• Some people need two doses, like kids between 6 months and 8 years old who have never been vaccinated before, or anyone who only got one dose last year. The two doses should be given at least four weeks apart.
• Other children can get just one dose this year.
• Kids should get vaccinated before Oct. 31.
• The flu vaccine is available as a shot or nasal spray. The shot is available to all eligible patients, while the nasal spray can be used by most healthy patients ages 2 or older.
• People who are pregnant or breastfeeding should also get vaccinated, as the flu shot has been found to be both safe and effective for them.

“Pregnancy causes people to be at increased risk for more severe and deadly flu illness, which is a danger not only to the mother herself but also to the developing fetus,” said Michelle Bennett, MD, FAAP, PLLC, a board-certified pediatrician at Elliston Pediatrics. “The baby is born with some flu protection that lasts for the first several months, decreasing the baby’s likelihood of flu illness.”

The AAP statement included some information on the troubling downward trend experts are seeing in vaccination rates. Overall, 57% of children and adolescents were vaccinated last flu season, which is down from around 63% in the 2019-2020 season.

“We are definitely seeing a troubling, downward trend in vaccine acceptance,” said Ari Brown, MD, an Austin, Texas-based pediatrician. “It’s likely a variety of societal factors that have led to this but I am hopeful that we all learned more about infectious diseases after getting through the pandemic.”

Dr. Brown added, “Across the United States, thousands of children were hospitalized because of flu, and more than 190 kids died from flu-related complications. I hope people are motivated to protect themselves and loved ones. As a pediatrician, I have always had great respect for how horrible infectious diseases, including flu, can be, because I have cared for patients who have been critically ill with it. My mantra has always been, let’s prevent what’s preventable.”