Three children from New York died from rare but serious neurological conditions triggered by an influenza infection during last year’s severe flu season, state health officials said Tuesday.

Overall, there were 109 reports of children who fell ill with influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE) and acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) across the United States during the 2024-2025 flu season, according to recently released federal data. The majority of those children who were eligible for the flu vaccine had not received it, researchers said.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said the new data underscores the importance of flu vaccines, especially among young children. The vaccine is recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months. Last season marked the highest number o

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