During the 2024–25 influenza season, at least 280 children died in the U.S., the highest non-pandemic pediatric flu death count since the CDC began tracking in 2004, while pediatric flu vaccination rates fell to 50.2%, their lowest level in about 15 seasons.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by CDC's own MMWR report and FluVaxView data, corroborated by CIDRAP, Medscape, AAP News, and AHA News. Multiple independent, high-quality sources including primary CDC data support both the pediatric death toll and vaccination rate figures. [tier=gold indep_score=0.95 clusters=3 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- AAP Releases Childhood Vaccine Recommendations That Differ ... (seed:health_and_medicine)
- https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7436a2.htm (corroboration)
- https://www.cdc.gov/fluvaxview/coverage-by-season/2024-2025.html (corroboration)
- https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-general/cdc-reports-highlight-2024-25-flu-seasons-deadly-impact-us-kids (corroboration)
- https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2025-07-28-pediatric-flu-deaths-reach-266-2024-2025-season (corroboration)