According to the CDC, only one child flu death was reported last winter. In a typical year, you will see between 150 and 200 deaths.
DES MOINES, Iowa – Kids are so excited to be with their friends again, but they get some of those cold and flu viruses that many haven’t caught in the last year because everyone has been home.
Dr. Adam Brown, a pediatrician at the University of Iowa Health Care, said he was seeing more and more children with gastrointestinal infections and respiratory viruses.
“I think one big difference right now is the fact that we see these things this time of year and it’s very different from any other year in my career,” said Brown. “I’ve been practicing and training for 15 years now and have never had a year like this before.”
That’s probably because the world is opening up again and kids have more play dates.
“We’re feeling it more this year,” said Julia Olson, a mother of a 4-year-old child. “Last year we didn’t get too sick, but this year it blew us a bit. We couldn’t get out of bed for two days. We didn’t know what it was. We were all tested.”
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According to the CDC, only one child flu death was reported last winter.
In a typical year, you will see between 150 and 200 deaths.
“I think we expect it will be a busy year this fall and winter, but we don’t really know,” said Brown.
Over the past year we have all learned the simple steps to prevent viruses from spreading. So wash your hands regularly and stay home when you are sick.
