As much as people like to think the flu is a mild disease, you can't get away from the fact that a lot of kids die from the flu each year.
Unlike flu deaths in adults, which are just estimates, we actually know exactly how many kids die from the flu each year as it has been a nationally notifiable condition since 2004:
2003-04 flu season - 152 pediatric flu deaths
2004-05 flu season - 39 pediatric flu deaths
2005-06 flu season - 41 pediatric flu deaths
2006-07 flu season - 68 pediatric flu deaths
2007-08 flu season - 88 pediatric flu deaths
2008-09 flu season - 133 pediatric flu deaths
2009-10 flu season - 282 pediatric flu deaths
(swine flu pandemic)
2010-11 flu season - 123 pediatric flu deaths
2011-12 flu season - 34 pediatric flu deaths
2012-13 flu season - 171 pediatric flu deaths
2013-14 flu season - 109 pediatric flu deaths
2014-15 flu season - 11 pediatric flu deaths
And these aren't all kids with risk factors, like having asthma, diabetes, or other chronic medical condition. Reports have shown that about half of the children who die from the flu each year have no known high-risk factors for flu complications.
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