How Many People Die From the Flu Each Year?
Posted: May 20th, 2024 at 12:00AM
Too many people still think that the flu is just a more extreme cold, but the flu virus can kill. Furthermore, it's not confined to merely the flu season during the colder months of the year, when an individual might experience a sore throat and runny nose.
In this blog, we'll talk about flu deaths in the United States each year, complications of the flu virus, and how to stay healthy with the influenza vaccination.
How Many Flu Deaths Are There in the US Each Year?
The disease burden of influenza viruses fluctuates year to year, but here's what the last several years looked like:
- 2017-2018: 51,000 flu deaths
- 2018-2019: 27,000
- 2019-2020: 25,000
- 2021-2022: 4,900
- 2022-2023: 21,000
Note: Because flu activity was so low in the 2020-2021 time period, no reliable data is available.
What Contributed to the Decrease in Flu Mortality?
You probably noticed a significant decline in flu mortality — first in 2018 and then again in 2021. Why?
The drop in 2018 is less clear, although more people might've taken action and gotten the flu vaccine. But the drop in 2021 coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. How are the two related? Shouldn't that have made the number of flu cases go up?
Surprisingly, it had the opposite effect. Viruses circulate more easily when a lot of people are in close proximity to each other. During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, people stayed home, slowing the spread of infectious diseases.
Furthermore, more people began wearing face masks and taking hygiene — like hand-washing — more seriously.
While this was done to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic, it also slowed down the number of flu cases, too.
Who is Most Likely to Die From the Flu?
What age groups see the most flu deaths? People who are 65 years of age and older are most at risk. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that somewhere between 70% and 85% of flu-related deaths occur in people 65 years and older. In addition, between 50% and 70% of flu-related hospitalizations happen in this same age group.
What Other Risk Factors Are Related to Influenza Deaths?
Is one gender more likely to experience worse symptoms of influenza compared to the other?
Maybe you've heard of something called the "man flu." In a nutshell, it refers to men who become ill with the flu or an influenza-like illness and seem to experience exaggerated symptoms.
However, it turns out that this might be more than a dramatic response to the influenza virus. It's actually possible that when it comes to respiratory viruses, men may experience symptoms differently than women due to several suggested reasons, including a varied immune response.
Furthermore, there is research showing that men are hospitalized for influenza viruses more than women. The rates of influenza deaths might be higher for men, too.
What are Complications of the Flu?
What are Complications of the Flu?When we talk about how many people die from the flu, the conversation goes beyond flu cases.
When influenza escalates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that it can present with sinus and ear infections; inflammation of the heart, brain, and muscle tissues; multi-organ failure; and even sepsis.
The flu can also spiral into a more severe illness, like pneumonia — which is another serious complication. Every year, one million adults in the US are hospitalized for pneumonia, and 50,000 die.
Plus, people with chronic illnesses might experience unique complications and worsening of their symptoms.
Learn more about pneumonia and its symptoms, causes, and treatment.
The Flu Vaccine
You now know that even the data proves it: The flu is so much more than acold. It can lead to severe illness like pneumonia, land individuals in the hospital, and increase the risk of death.
Time and time again, science has proven that the flu vaccine is the most effective way to stop the spread of the virus and protect our health. Research tells us that flu vaccinations can reduce the risk of acquiring the flu by 40% to 60%.
And for vaccinated individuals who still become sick with the flu, they often experience more mild symptoms and a shorter duration of illness.
This is why it's so important to get the yearly flu vaccine! In the 2022-2023 season, 57.4% of children between six months and 17 years got at least one dose of the flu vaccine. This was similar to the previous year (57.8%).
46.9% of adults 18 years of age and older received the flu vaccine, which was a 2.5% decrease from the previous year (49.4%).
Remember that vaccination isn't important only for the flu season — it protects individuals year-round. Be sure to get the flu shot each and every year, because the specific strain of the flu virus evolves over time, rendering previous vaccines less effective. This is why new vaccines are released yearly.
Individuals who aren't sure if they should get vaccinated against influenza should speak with their healthcare providers. Even pregnant women and individuals with chronic diseases should get the influenza vaccine, although there might be certain types of vaccines that they should avoid.
However, individuals who should not get the vaccine at all are the very rare minority. If you've heard misinformation about the flu shot — like that it makes you sick — read our blog on the myths about the influenza vaccine.
With yearly vaccination and proper hygiene, together, we can prevent influenza, serious illness, and death.
