Flu sending children to emergency room
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – More than 1 in 10 children arriving at an Indiana emergency room are there because of the flu.
With an estimated 15 million cases, the U.S. is in the midst of its second-worst flu season in the past 15 years.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of the country is seeing “high” or “very high” levels of respiratory illness. That includes the Hoosier State.
The age group seeing the largest percentage of ER visits for flu-like symptoms is children 4 and younger: In Marion County, it’s 12.86% of the population; and it’s 13.4% across Indiana.
Staff at the Busy Bee Play Café, an indoor playground in Indianapolis, are wiping surfaces more often and swapping out played-with toys for disinfected items to mitigate the risk to families.
One mother at Busy Bee, Kelly Delp, feels safer bringing her children to share toys and play surfaces with others in part because her children are up to date on vaccinations. “I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Delp said. ”I think that a lot of people are having to decide for themselves what’s right for their family.”
According to the latest CDC data, less than 40% of the U.S. has received a flu shot this season.
The CDC recently adopted changes to the childhood vaccine schedule recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It no longer recommends flu vaccines for all children 6 months and older, unless there’s been “shared clinical decision making” with a health care provider.
Melissa McMasters, the administrator of infectious disease and immunization programs in Marion County, considers the change “alarming.”
“Because it’s not really based on science,” McMasters said.
McMasters said the Marion County Health Department is using the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, not the federal government, for its guidance. The academy recommends flu shots for all children 6 months and older.
Since Indiana likely hasn’t hit peak flu season, McMasters wants Hoosiers to know it’s not too late to get a flu shot. “Getting the flu vaccine can actually prevent hospitalizations and deaths. You might still get sick with the flu, but you end up with a lesser version of the influenza.”
There’s been at least 17 pediatric deaths across the country this season. None of Indiana’s 28 flu-related deaths have been children, according to the Indiana Department of Health.
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