TWO BOSTON CHILDREN under the age of two have died from flu-related illness, marking the city’s first pediatric influenza deaths since 2013 and raising alarms as flu cases surge and vaccination rates remain low.
One of the deaths was reported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health earlier this week, while the second was confirmed overnight, bringing the statewide total of pediatric flu-related deaths this season to four.
“This is obviously a devastating loss for both of their families,” Boston Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu said Tuesday. “And we actually in Boston have not had a pediatric flu death since 2013 so it’s clear that we’re having a particularly bad season, particularly for children.”
When asked by reporters if the two children who died were vaccinated, especially vulnerable, or faced an aggressive flu strain, Ojikutu declined to give specific details, citing patient confidentiality.
The U.S. is experiencing a sharp increase in flu activity
In the last two weeks of December, confirmed cases among children under 5 in Boston rose 142 percent, according to ata presented by Ojikutu. Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness among that age group increased 225 percent, and hospitalizations “nearly tripled” over the same period.
Compared with last flu season, Boston has already seen twice as many pediatric flu hospitalizations, Ojikutu said, and hospitalizations among children under 5 have exceeded last season’s peak — even though flu season is “nowhere near our peak yet.”
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is reporting “very high and rising levels of influenza activity” statewide, with nearly 9,000 emergency department visits per day last week, about one-quarter of them related to acute respiratory illness. As of late December, an estimated 20.5 percent of emergency department visits were tied to acute respiratory disease, according to DPH’s respiratory illness dashboard. Hospitals in some regions have reported capacity levels exceeding 90 percent, largely driven by influenza.
Ojikutu attributed the severity of the season to the aggressiveness of the circulating strain — H3N2, subtype K — and lagging vaccination rates.
“We do have a new subvariant that’s out there that is behaving in a more aggressive way,” she said. “And then our vaccination rates for the flu are low.”
About 32.5 percent of Boston residents received a flu vaccine as of December 27, Ojikutu said, compared with roughly 34 percent statewide. She said vaccination rates are only slightly lower than last year, but remain “overall low.”
“While the flu is usually mild, it can cause hospitalization and death,” Ojikutu said. “Children under the age of two are at higher risk.”
Public health officials stressed that most flu infections in children remain mild but urged parents and caregivers to seek immediate medical attention if children develop warning signs of severe illness. Those include trouble breathing, persistently high fever, extreme lethargy, confusion or signs of dehydration such as markedly decreased urination.
In babies, parents and caregivers should look for signs of escalating irritability, Ojikutu said. She encouraged them to bring their children to a medical provider if they had any questions or concerns.
“This can happen rather quickly when children have the flu,” Ojikutu said. “So it’s being aware of these signs and symptoms and then bringing kids into the emergency department as soon as possible.”
Both the Boston Public Health Commission and the state Department of Public Health are urging residents 6 months and older to get vaccinated, noting that this year’s flu vaccine was developed before the H3N2 subtype K strain became predominant. While that makes the vaccine a potential mismatch for the strain now circulating most widely, Ojikutu said available data show the vaccine still reduces the severity of illness, lowers the risk of hospitalization, and decreases the likelihood of death, particularly for young children and others at higher risk.