Get a flu shot, help your community

Across New York, 26 children died from flu or flu-related causes during last year's flu season. 

Just four years ago, that number was only 3.

Nationwide, the 2024-25 flu season saw the highest number of pediatric flu deaths since regular record keeping began in 2004.

Those tragic increases are matched by a steady decrease in the number of children vaccinated against the flu, which comes amid a steady drumbeat of misinformation and disinformation that has seeded doubts about vaccination more broadly.

Those trends have very real, very serious consequences. Nationally, there were 109 reports of children with rare but severe neurological conditions triggered by the flu during the last flu season; three New York children died. Most of those children who were eligible to be vaccinated had not gotten their shot.

As the next flu season begins, this is the time to change those trajectories, to protect our children from preventable illness — and death.

Despite the turmoil at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and questionable decisions regarding other vaccines and medical concerns, the CDC has remained firm on its support for the flu shot, recommending it for everyone 6 months and older.

"The best way to reduce your risk from seasonal flu and its potentially serious complications is to get a flu vaccine every year," the CDC's website says. 

Those at higher risk, the CDC says, include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions and those 65 and older. 

The flu shot is safe, effective and extraordinarily important for the health and safety of adults and children alike. By getting the flu vaccine, and making sure your children are vaccinated, you're not only protecting yourselves and your family, but others, too. Significantly, children under 6 months are at higher risk — and cannot be vaccinated. The only way to protect those babies, and others who are especially vulnerable, such as older adults or those who cannot be vaccinated, is if those around them — their parents, caregivers, day care providers and other children — receive the vaccine.

The flu, of course, isn't the only risk at this time of year. It's wise, too, to get an updated COVID-19 booster, which the state Health Department continues to recommend, especially for those ages 6 to 23 months and those 65 and older. But at a time when so many public health issues, including the COVID shot, have become controversial, it's wise to not allow such controversy and questions impact the critical decision to get the flu shot. Reportedly, some parents already have canceled or delayed their children's flu shots due to the more recent emphasis on vaccine hesitancy. That must not happen.

No one should die from the flu. We can stop this. The vaccine is available at pharmacies, workplaces and from doctors. It's the simplest way to protect yourself and others. Get this year's flu shot.