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A summary of presentations from the weekly Summit partner webinars

April 17, 2025 – The latest Summit Summary

H5N1 Update –Jay Butler, MD (CAPT, USPS, RET), Senior Advisor for Infectious Diseases, Office of Readiness and Response, CDC

Dr. Jay Butler, gave an update about H5N1.

H5N1 Update – Jay Butler, MD (CAPT, USPS, RET) 
Dr. Jay Butler, gave an update about H5N1

If you have any question regarding this presentation, please email info@izsummitpartners.org.

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Flu Seasons Present vs Past – Eric Stein, Marketing Communications and Program Specialist, Families Fighting Flu

Eric Stein gave an update about seasonal influenza.

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Flu Seasons Present vs Past – Eric Stein
Families Fighting Flu is a patient advocacy group founded in 2004 by families who had lost a child under age 5 to flu. The organization supports education about flu and the vaccine against it towards the goal that no families have to go through loss due to this protectable — though not always preventable — disease.

Flu Statistics in 2025
This is one of the highest severity seasons for flu for a non-pandemic year.

  • The last comparable season was 2017–2018, with 186 pediatric deaths due to flu, although the 2024–2025 season has already exceeded that.
  • Vaccination rates are trending down for children (4.6% lower this year than last for children).
    • For ages 6 months to 17 years, only 55% are vaccinated
    • For ages 65 and older or those with further complications, vaccination rates are higher and steady
    • For people 18 years of age and older, the 2024–2025 vaccination rate has surpassed the previous year.
  • A FluView comparison for April 2024 versus April 2025 shows 138 pediatric deaths (5 new) in 2024 versus 188 pediatric deaths (20 new) in 2025. And, for overall flu deaths in the same periods, 23,000 deaths in 2024 versus 26,000 deaths in 2025.

Messaging from Families Fighting Flu
Families Fighting Flu is focusing on parents who might be on the fence about vaccination, to try to ensure as many people who are considering vaccinating their children actually do. Their approach is to “meet people where they are” on social media and within their communities.

Their messaging includes acknowledgment of the economic impact of influenza, estimated at $11.2B, annually, comprised of $3.2B for direct costs and $8B for indirect costs:  within families, when one or more family members is sick; to society within care systems; and for employers.

  • Families: loss of work; additional childcare; ordinary household costs, such as prepared food if an ill parent is unable to cook
  • Care Systems: monitoring in addition to direct care costs
  • Employers: loss of productivity (estimated at 20M days, annually)

Families Fighting Flu uses storytelling to connect with people and resources such as videos and clinic posters to ensure their message is delivered to those it will benefit.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q: Might it be helpful, for marketing purposes, to show how many deaths occurred at the home or in the ER, which are cases that could not have been treated? (Years ago, CDC used to provide that breakdown.)
Eric Stein (Families Fighting Flu): I go through the CDC website a lot, especially FluView. I’m not sure that they have those numbers readily available. I know sometimes if you go to a state health department’s website, they might have those numbers, depending on the state. But I agree with you: that would be helpful information.
Carolyn Bridges (Immunize, NAIIS): I’m not aware of a more recent one: I think it was a 2004 New England Journal of Medicine paper that provided a lot more detail about individual pediatric deaths. And it was a huge number of pediatric deaths in that paper.
Carrie Reed (CDC): It is data that we collect every year on the case report form when those cases are reported. So it is information we have. I don’t have the latest, offhand, but yes, in some seasons it’s been as many as 50 percent that died before they were admitted to the hospital. And we are working on a more in depth summary for MMWR at the end of the season this year. We’ll make sure to put that on the list: to get that information in there in a way that people can access.

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Announcements
  • Registration is open for the Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit: Looking Back, Moving Forward, May 13–15, 2025. This summit will be held at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia.

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