Flu season hasn't peaked. But they are reporting the highest activity since the pandemic years ago. Experts say you should still get the vaccine, especially if you belong to one group in particular. Hidden in those tragedies is that a number of children have died from the flu.
We're also hearing from pregnant women being reluctant to get a flu shot because of fear it could hurt their child. This story is why it is the opposite. It is so, so severe. They couldn't do a caesarean.
Reporter: Her friend was seven months pregnant because he had the flu. the california mother of four survived, her baby did not. If they would have operated on her, with a caesarean, they would have lost her or the child or both.
Reporter: Nationwide, at least 37 people have been killed by the flu this season. Kids are really making up the predominant amount of influenza-like illness. They're taking that back to school. Getting transmitted there. And i think that's driving a lot of the visits to the outpatient clinics now.
Reporter: The use of the flu vaccine has been extensively evaluated and found to be safe. But getting the flu itself while pregnant, has been found to link to increased birth defects. And a pregnant woman is more likely to suffer serious complications from the flu such as pneumonia.
And since they can bring it back to mom, carrying baby or brother to be, schools are working to contain the virus. At least six school districts closed because too many staff and students called out sick. And in gulf county, Florida, more than 20% of students were absent because of flu-like symptoms. 11 in this building alone, of the instructional staff were out. Either sick or tending to the sick child.
Again, the cdc and american college of obstetricians and gynecologists say everyone should get a flu shot. It's safe and expecting mothers are no exception. It's safe and you're protecting two lives with one shot.
Better yet, it also helps protect infants from the virus, for several months after they're born, because they have anti-bodies from mom's immune system. We keep hearing numbers about effectiveness being very low.
That's based on the numbers coming out of australia, a strain that was circulating in Australia. Here in the united states, it's probably running closer to 40%. it all depends what strain you run into. And even if you get the flu, it's more likely to be a milder case.
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