2 Michigan Kids Die Of Flu-Related Illnesses

Two children in Michigan have died of flu-related illnesses, the state health department said Friday. They are the first pediatric influenza-associated deaths in the state in 2017, according to a news release.

One death occurred in northern Michigan and the other in the western part of the state. A Michigan Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson told Patch that due to privacy issues and protected health information, the ages of the children or their vaccination status could not be released.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said children younger than 5 and especially those younger than 2 are at a high risk of influenza complications. So far this season, 61 children across the United States have died of flu-related illnesses and complications, according to the CDC.

That’s dramatically lower than in the 2014-2015 flu season, when 148 kids died of the flu.

Both the Michigan health department and CDC recommend that everyone 6 months or older get a flu vaccination.

The flu season in Michigan has been relatively mild this year, but those who haven’t gotten a flu shot should do so, the health department said.

“The flu vaccine this year is a good match to those viruses circulating in our communities, meaning it offers more protection than it may have in recent years,” Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive for the Michigan health department said in a news release. “It is not too late to get vaccinated. And remember, if you or your child is sick, stay home to help protect others.”

More than three-fourths of the positive influenza specimens confirmed by the health department’s Bureau of Laboratories this flu season have been an H3N2 virus, which can cause severe flu infections in children, as well as in young- and middle-aged adults, Wells said.

The vlu vaccine is the best way to prevent getting the flu and can also reduce the severity of flu illness, Wells said.

Vaccine is especially important for persons at increased risk for complications from flu, including children, adults aged 65 years and older, persons of any age with underlying medical conditions, and pregnant women.

Children less than 6 months of age are too young to be vaccinated, but the best way to protect them is to make sure and need to be protected by vaccination of their close contacts, including parents, siblings, grandparents, and child-care and health-care workers.

In the 2015-2016 flu season, only 42.2 percent of Michigan residents got flu shots, putting Michigan in 42nd place in the country.

There is still plenty of flu vaccine available. To find flu vaccine near you, call your health-care provider, local health department, or check the Health Map Vaccine Finder. Additional information about the flu is found on the health department website.

Image: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers via Flickr Commons