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    • The flu hospitalizes thousands of people each year, CDC study finds
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    The flu hospitalizes thousands of people each year, CDC study finds

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    Seasonal flu may not peak with fever, cough and sore throat. Many people, especially older people and young children, end up in the hospital with serious illnesses., according to a new study.

    More than 100,000 people are hospitalized and 4,900 people die annually from flu complications in the U.S. Vaccines, which target last year’s dominant flu strains, can help you avoid serious illness or death.

    The study published Tuesday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report showed the risks that seasonal flu still poses, especially for people who have not been vaccinated.

    “At all ages, there are people who have no underlying medical conditions who are still at risk of being hospitalized,” Dr. William Schaffner, study co-author and professor of infectious diseases at the University of California Medical Center, told USA TODAY. Vanderbilt. “The influenza virus, in all its forms, is a formidable virus that can catch a healthy person and land them in the hospital within 48 hours.”

    Data collected by the CDC’s flu surveillance network between 2010 and 2023 found that people age 65 and older had the highest hospitalization rate, followed by children age 4 and younger. In general, these groups tend to be at higher risk for infectious diseases.

    The study, conducted by researchers at the CDC and more than a dozen other institutes, health departments and universities, was based on a review of hospitalization records taken from several regions of the U.S. The findings do not reflect the entire country.

    People with severe cases of the flu were more likely to have underlying medical conditions. The most common underlying conditions among children were asthma, neurological disorders and obesity, the study found. Among adults, the most common conditions were hypertension, obesity, chronic metabolic diseases, chronic lung diseases, and cardiovascular diseases, all of which are prevalent in the US.

    The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic marked a dramatic decline in flu hospitalizations. Schaffner, a co-author of the study, said vigilant social distancing and reduced interaction among children amid closed schools may have explained the reductions in flu spread.

    The 2022-23 season generated 64.4 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, indicating that the numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, flu hospitalizations were still lower than in the 2017-18 season, when doctors saw 102.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the study period. ICU admissions, medical ventilation and hospital deaths persisted, demonstrating that “influenza continues to cause serious morbidity and mortality,” according to the report.

    Blacks, Native Americans and Alaska Natives were more likely to be hospitalized with the flu. They also experienced higher rates of ICU admissions.

    The study said lower vaccination rates in these populations likely contributed to them having higher hospitalization rates than white people. He noted that greater observation of trends would help explain such disparities and enable prevention efforts in communities of color.

    The study highlights troubling trends among several groups that deserve more attention, said Dr. Siobhan Wescott, the Dr. Susan and Susette La Flesche Professor of American Indian Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Misinformation and an unwillingness to get vaccinated are contributing to the increase in hospitalizations, he added.

    “They’re giving us a lot to consider,” said Wescott, who was not involved in the study. “We have to start working on immunization rates and comorbidities, all indigenously for our population.”

    The study also found that use of antiviral medications decreased among patients from a high of 90.2% in 2018-19 to less than 80% in 2022-23, with steeper declines in antiviral use among children. These medications, such as Tamiflu or Relenza, can reduce severe forms of disease and improve outcomes in the hospital setting. The drop in use of this medication is a “concerning trend and highlights missed opportunities” to prevent flu-related complications, the study says.

    Hospitalized adults ages 18 to 49 were the least likely to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. In 2014-15, that age group reached a peak vaccination rate of 31.1%, and by the 2022-23 season, the average fell to just 15.4%.

    Hospitalized patients who had been vaccinated had a substantially lower chance of being admitted to the ICU and a 31% lower risk of dying compared to unvaccinated people.

    He The current flu vaccine may not be as effective as previous versions.showed a recent CDC study on the winter season in the Southern Hemisphere. However, it still provides protection and reduces the risk of hospitalization by about 34%, according to the study. study saying.

    Schaffner, a co-author of the study, said the best time to get vaccinated is in October and November, at the beginning of flu season. A vaccine can prevent a person with a mild flu infection from ending up in the hospital. He urged people who haven’t made plans to take action, saying now is not the time to wait.

    “A deferred vaccine is usually a vaccine that is never received,” Schaffner said.

    The 2023-24 season was one of the worst in recent history due to the number of children who died from the flu. CDC data found. The 199 children who died coincided with a drop in the vaccination rate.

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