Here’s why:
The flu has claimed the lives of 105 children this season, says a report out today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to Liz Szabo and Elizabeth Weise, of the 105 unfortunate children, 94 did not receive a vaccine this year against influenza. Also, 40% of the children who died (42 children in the U.S. this flu season) were otherwise healthy children, without underlying medical conditions.
One only wonders how many of these children — including the 60% of children with underlying medical conditions who died — contracted influenza from friends, relatives, and classmates who didn’t bother getting a flu vaccine this year. (The answer is probably all of them.)
Quote of the day:
The high number of children lost to the flu “is just profoundly sad,” said William Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “Here we are in the 21st century, and this ancient scourge visits us every year and can still have such a profound effect on our children.”
It is profoundly sad. If I was a parent of one of the fallen children, I’d also be profoundly pissed.