I keep saying it, but no one wants to talk about it! Chanel Rion, if you are reading this, please bring it up!
More than 11,000 Texans died from the flu in 2017-18 season
…killed more than 80,000 in the United States and hospitalized more than 900,000
The 2017-18 vaccine was 36-percent effective, one CDC study found.
Even at the time, Texas physicians understood that the 2017-18 flu season was one for the books. But nobody knew just how bad it was until Thursday, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new numbers.
Last winter, influenza and its complications killed more than 80,000 in the United States and hospitalized more than 900,000 — the highest totals for death and illness during a seasonal outbreak since CDC numbers on flu deaths were first reported in 1976. Previously, flu-related deaths had ranged from 12,000 in the 2011-12 season to the previous high of 56,000 in 2012-2013. The CDC figures are estimates based on statistical models.
The 180 children who died in 2017-2018 was also a new record, beating the old one of 171 set in 2012-2013. The majority of them were unvaccinated, CDC said.
In Texas, more than 11,000 people died from flu and its complications during the 2017-18 flu season, including 16 children, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said.
Even before Thursday's announcement, CDC had branded 2017-2018 a "high severity season" based on anecdotal evidence and the data that was available. There were several reasons for that severity but perhaps the biggest was that last year's vaccine was not effective against all the strains that appeared. In a typical flu season, flu vaccine can be up to 40- to 60-percent effective. The 2017-18 vaccine was 36-percent effective, one CDC study found.
Last updated October 19, 2018
https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=48701