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CDC: Young, middle-aged adults bear brunt of flu season
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This influenza season is hitting younger- and middle-aged adults aged 18 to 64 years particularly hard, according to the CDC, with approximately 61% of influenza-related hospitalizations occurring in this group.
“Flu hospitalizations and deaths among this age group is a sad and difficult reminder that flu can be serious for anyone, not just the very young and old, and that everyone should be vaccinated,” CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, said during a media briefing. “The good news is that this season’s vaccine is doing its job, protecting people across all age groups.”
Thomas Frieden
The predominant circulating virus is influenza A(H1N1), the same strain that caused the 2009 pandemic that also produced high rates of hospitalization and death in young adults aged 18 to 24 years, Frieden said. This year, however, only about one-third of those in this age group have received an influenza vaccine.
“Younger people may feel that influenza is not a threat to them, but this season underscores that flu can be a serious disease for anyone,” Frieden said. “It’s important that everyone get vaccinated. It’s also important to remember that some people who get vaccinated may still get sick, and we need to use our second line of defense against flu: antiviral drugs.”
In three reports published in MMWR today, the CDC released interim data on the current influenza season, including influenza activity, incidence of influenza illness and death, and influenza vaccine effectiveness. The surveillance data suggest that influenza activity will continue for many weeks, especially in locations where activity started later.
Besides the highest percentage of influenza-related hospitalizations, adults aged 25 to 64 years also accounted for 60% of the influenza-related deaths this season, similar to the rate of death for this age group during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
To analyze vaccine effectiveness, CDC researchers used data from 2,319 children and adults enrolled in the US Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network from Dec. 2, 2013, to Jan. 23, 2014. Receiving the vaccine reduced the risk of seeing a physician for influenza-related illness by 61% across all age groups.
Anne Schuchat
“This season is not over, and things could change,” Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC’s Center for Global Health, said during the briefing. “This season, vaccinated people were substantially better off than those not vaccinated. There is still influenza circulating, so it’s not too late to receive a flu vaccine. This year’s vaccine is providing solid protection.”