Dallas County Health and Human Services has documented its first pediatric flu death, an infant.
It is the first child flu death in Dallas County since 2019. Flu cases are the highest they’ve been in a decade, warned federal health officials.
Christian Grisales, with Dallas County Health and Human Services, said in November they were “doubling down our efforts to bring the [flu] vaccine to the community.”
Last month the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association requested a formal emergency declaration from the federal government to support hospitals and communities.
This request was partly due to a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza cases, both unusually high this year. Almost all children will have an RSV infection by their second birthday, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Paul Elias Alexander, Ph.D., said COVID measures had weakened children’s immune systems, making them more vulnerable to infections. Protocols brought less exposure to viruses; children are therefore unable to deal with viruses appropriately.
Peter McCullough, M.D., doctor of internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, and clinical lipidology, cautions that vaccine companies are trying to “shortcut” the traditional vaccine regulatory development cycle by “combining the non-emergency flu shot with the EUA COVID-19 vaccine.”
During the summer, doctors were reportedly concerned about the possibility of a “twindemic” in America, referring to a scenario in which both flu and COVID-19 spread rapidly and simultaneously.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed respiratory illnesses are arising earlier and in more individuals than in the last few years. There have also been early increases in flu activity across most of the U.S., they said.
The CDC claimed there are indications that this flu season could be much more severe than the previous two.
As of Monday afternoon, pediatric bed occupancy in the U.S. is the highest in two years. ABC News claimed that an analysis showed 75% of the estimated 40,000 beds are occupied.