Study: Influenza vaccine significantly reduces risk of pediatric deaths associated with flu-related illness
Children and teens who received an influenza vaccine were at 80% lower risk of death from influenza-related illness despite whether they had underlying medical conditions, according to a new study spanning eight seasons.
The study, “Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Against Pediatric Death in the United States: 2016–2025,” published in the August Pediatrics (published online July 6), reviewed 1,234 influenza-associated pediatric deaths from August 2016 through July 2025. The number of pediatric deaths reported per season among children ages 6 months to 17 years ranged from 37 during the 2011–2012 season to 289 during 2024–2025, according to data provided by the U.S. Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality Surveillance System.
The authors observe that the number of children who died from influenza in the 2024-2025 respiratory season was the highest since these deaths became nationally reportable in 2004.
After excluding deaths among children who were not fully vaccinated, 1,086 pediatric deaths were studied. Authors found:
• 194 (18%) of 1,086 influenza-associated deaths occurred in children with current season influenza vaccination and 892 (82%) in unvaccinated children.
• Among deaths in children without known conditions, 12% were fully vaccinated against influenza compared with 23% among deaths in children with one or more underlying medical conditions.
Of these, 89% of vaccine-eligible children were unvaccinated or had not received the recommended number of doses to be considered fully vaccinated. While there is generally high uptake of other recommended childhood vaccines, pediatric influenza vaccination rates remain comparatively low. The authors conclude that seasonal influenza vaccination reduces the risk of influenza-associated deaths in all pediatric age groups.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.