CDC Warns of Second Peak in Severe U.S. Flu Season
CDC data show rising influenza activity and at least 20 million illnesses this season, with 52 pediatric deaths and low child vaccination rates.
Overview
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in data for the week ending Jan. 24, released Jan. 30, that influenza activity increased again, signaling a second peak and contributing to at least 20 million illnesses this season.
CDC estimates show the season has produced 270,000 hospitalizations and 11,000 deaths, and CDC data for the week ending Jan. 24 recorded 52 pediatric flu deaths, officials said.
"We are heading up a second peak of flu season," said Caitlin Rivers, a Johns Hopkins University epidemiologist, as health experts and pediatric groups urged renewed vaccination and mitigation efforts.
Fewer than half of children — 45.1% of those ages 6 months to 17 years — had received a flu shot as of Jan. 17, CDC data show, a drop public health advocates say may be linked to higher pediatric hospitalizations.
Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University and Dr. Samantha Picking of Walgreens advised that antivirals work best when started within two days of symptoms and urged masking and vaccination as cases could continue to rise, experts said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a public-health problem tied to falling vaccination rates and recent policy shifts. They foreground CDC statistics and pro-vaccine expert voices, juxtapose the administration’s change in guidance with rising pediatric deaths, and omit administrative explanations or alternative causal factors, creating urgency for vaccination.