When 4½-year-old Leon Sidari got sick a couple of days before last Christmas, his parents, both of them doctors, weren’t immediately concerned. Leon had never had a serious illness. “We treated his fever, and thought he had a run-of-the-mill cold,” says Leon’s mother Laura, a psychiatrist. When Leon woke up the next morning, he was having trouble breathing, and his parents rushed him to a hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Leon was diagnosed with flu and bacterial pneumonia, and he was admitted to the intensive care unit. But his condition “rapidly went downhill,” says his father, Tony, who is a rheumatologist. Leon died on Christmas morning, within 18 hours of being admitted to the hospital. Leon’s parents had planned on getting him vaccinated at a local pharmacy, but state law in Texas only allows pharmacists to administer the flu vaccine to children older than 7. So Leon was going to get a flu shot at his next annual checkup, which would have been 10 days after he died. “There is so much parents don’t know about the flu,” Laura says. “A lot of people don’t know that a healthy child can die from the flu.” Leon’s parents have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for a nonprofit charity to help other families, and they hope to raise awareness about the importance of getting vaccinated through a #FluShotsforLeon Twitter campaign.
Younger Children Are Especially at Risk for Flu Complications
“Children younger than 5 years of age — especially those younger than 2 years old — are at high risk of serious flu-related complications,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “While children who have underlying health conditions such as asthma or a heart condition are at risk for influenza complications, flu can make healthy children very sick or even die if they develop a secondary infection,” says Flor Munoz, MD, a specialist in infectious disease at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. As of October 27, 2018, 185 pediatric deaths had been reported to the CDC related to the 2017–2018 season — the highest number of influenza deaths in children during a regular flu season. About 80 percent of the deaths were in children who had not received a flu vaccine. The CDC recommends a flu shot every year for everyone 6 months and older. While the shot doesn’t always prevent flu in kids or adults, according to the CDC, it “offers the best defense against getting flu and spreading it to others.” Signs of a potentially serious case of the flu include high fever, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, significant tiredness or confusion, and feeling better then getting worse. Although the 2018–2019 flu season has barely begun, two influenza-associated pediatric deaths had been reported to the CDC as of late October. A survey in August 2018 conducted by drugstore chain Walgreens of 1,200 U.S. parents found that 74 percent planned to vaccinate their children against flu this year. But the CDC estimates that only about 60 percent of kids 6 months to 17 years of age have gotten a flu shot in recent years, and that rate dipped a bit last year for kids 6 months to 4 years old.
Nonprofit Organization Helps Families Fight the Flu
“Vaccination against influenza can save lives. Parents should not be taking a chance by not vaccinating,” says Dr. Munoz, who is also a medical adviser to Families Fighting Flu (FFF), a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Virginia. FFF’s mission is to help protect families and communities from flu. Its board of directors includes parents of children who had to be hospitalized or died because of the flu. Laura Sidari says FFF reached out to her family after Leon died, and they were grateful for the support. Serese Marotta, FFF’s chief operating officer, lost her son Joseph, then 5 years old, to flu nine years ago. Joseph had gotten a nasal spray flu vaccine that year; but another flu strain, H1N1, now included in the seasonal flu shot, emerged later in the season. Joseph was not protected against it. FFF offers educational resources on its website, and the organization fields multiple social media channels to connect with families. “Social media allows us to have individual conversations with people. It allows them to ask questions and express concerns,” says Marotta.
Findings Ways to Spread the Word and Lend Support
Meanwhile, the Sidaris, who recently moved to Dayton, Ohio, continue looking for ways they can help raise awareness about the flu and vaccination. With money from the local rotary club, they organized a Halloween-themed “Say Boo to the Flu” day in their hometown of Albion, New York, during which 59 children got flu shots. They also plan to reach out and lend support to the families of children who find themselves in the hospital during the holidays. The Sidaris say their efforts are simply a reflection of who their son Leon was. “He was the warmest soul you could meet,” Tony says, “and he wasn’t yet 5 years old.”
