Flu ‘much worse’ for SLO County kids in 2025. Here’s what parents need to know
About two months ago, San Luis Obispo mother Lauren Bordeman started seeing signs of sickness in her 2-year-old daughter, Amelia.
Amelia was feverish, coughing and struggling to swallow fluids.
“It was just awful. ... She was lethargic, limp, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink for eight to 10 days,” Bordeman told The Tribune. “It was to the point where I was pretty worried.”
Bordeman, who works as an emergency room nurse at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, started to fear her daughter needed an IV drip.
She took her toddler to an urgent care clinic, where the 2-year-old tested positive for Influenza A.
In San Luis Obispo County, children infected with the flu during the 2024-25 respiratory virus season have been experiencing more severe and longer-lasting symptoms, according to local pediatricians.
Even after her initial doctor’s visit, Bordeman said her daughter struggled to improve from the flu.
It took another visit to urgent care and a prescription of Tamiflu, an antiviral drug to treat influenza, before Amelia finally began to feel better after nearly two weeks of symptoms.
“It was a lot longer and stronger than influenzas in the past that normally last four to five days,” the mother of four said, noting that no one in her family received the flu vaccine this season.
A ‘busy’ flu season for SLO County kids
This year’s flu season has been “much worse” than usual, according to Richard Macias, a pediatrician at Central Coast Pediatrics in San Luis Obispo.
“It’s definitely been a very busy one, as far as influenza is concerned, especially in the last few months,” Macias said.
The pediatrician said he has been treating around three to four flu patients every day, adding that all of his partner at his practice had been dealing with similar influenza patient loads.
Students and staff at Lucia Mar Unified School District, which has campuses in Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach and other South County communities, have also experienced more severe influenza cases this year, according to district lead nurse Anna-Liza Pacaoan.
At a “handful of schools,” Pacaoan said, the district “noticed there was an increase in number of illness days compared to last year, ranging from anywhere from as low as 40 more illness days up to 178 more illness days in one school.”
However, the district does not track why sick days were taken, she said.
Students and staff could have missed more days at school due to illnesses other than influenza, such as COVID-19 or common colds.
However, Pacaoan said, the flu appears to be causing the uptick in absences.
Are flu cases on the rise in SLO County?
San Luis Obispo County data from wastewaster samples and test positivity rates show a dramatic surge in influenza cases this winter.
Influenza test rates have been surging since mid-December and peaked on Feb. 8 when 38% of Influenza A tests came back positive, according to county data.
In comparison, SLO County’s 2023-2024 flu season peaked at a 10% test positivity rate in December 2023.
“We’re definitely seeing higher numbers of flu that we identify through our laboratory and also through our wastewater surveillance system,” San Luis Obispo County Health Officer Penny Borenstein told The Tribune in February. “It’s definitely higher than we’ve seen in recent years.”
Pediatricians see more flu cases, severe symptoms
Not only have there been more flu cases among local children lately, but symptoms have also been much more intense, said Sasha Szytel, a general pediatrician at Bravo Pediatrics in San Luis Obispo.
“When we’re seeing kids who are positive for the flu, they are looking sick or feeling sicker, and their symptoms are really hanging on for quite a while as well,” she said.
Szytel said nearly every child she diagnosed recently with influenza was staying sick for an abnormally long period of time.
Kids have struggled to kick long-lasting fevers, muscle aches, sore throats, congestion and coughs.
Influenza can cause secondary infections, such as pneumonia or sinus infections, which can lead to hospitalization, according to Szytel.
This flu season, Macias said he had to hospitalize two children infected with influenza who were struggling to maintain enough oxygen in their lungs. Both patients previously suffered from asthma.
“It’s important, if there’s anything unusual, or if (parents) are worried, they should definitely get their child checked out,” Szytel said.
Why is influenza so severe this year?
This flu season may be particularly bad due to a drop in vaccinations as well as a less effective vaccine, according to Macias.
Local pediatricians say they’ve witnessed a downward trend in children getting immunized over the past few years.
“We have seen more vaccine hesitancy among people these last couple of years,” Szytel said. “So there may be more people who didn’t get a flu vaccine in the fall, and so now they’re, of course, getting not only getting the flu more often, but getting sicker when they do get the flu.”
As of March 6, nearly 67,000 people had been vaccinated in SLO County, which represents about 24% of the county’s population, according to data from the public health department.
During the prior flu season, data showed a total of 74,187 people received the flu vaccine, or about 26% of SLO County.
Borenstein said influenza immunization rates for school children also dipped this season, although she could not provide The Tribune with any specific data.
Vaccine efficacy could be a factor as well, according to experts.
The Quadrivalent vaccine used by local doctors and health clinics this season might not have provided adequate protection against the current version of the virus, Macias said.
“We probably don’t have as much immunity” against the strain that’s circulating in California, Szytel said. “It’s probably just creating a bigger response in more people.”
How bad is flu season for children throughout California?
The state is experiencing an unusually high number of influenza cases during the 2024-2025 respiratory season, according to California Department of Public Health data.
That’s led to a rise in flu-related deaths, the state agency said.
As of Feb. 22, more than 1,000 Californians —including 18 children — had died from the flu this season, according to a report from the state Public Health Department.
“This year’s respiratory virus season has been dominated by seasonal influenza,” the report said.
What are common flu symptoms?
Symptoms usually appear suddenly for those who contract influenza, the CDC said, compared to COVID-19 symptoms which tend to appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
Here are common flu symptoms to look out for, according to the CDC:
- Fever, chills or feeling feverish
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscles or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue
What should parents do?
The California Department of Public Health recommends that parents keep their children home from school is they are not feeling well enough to participate in activities, or if they have a fever that is of 100.4 degrees or higher.
Is it too late to get my child vaccinated?
“We’re still offering (the flu vaccine) and recommending it,” Macias said. “It’s not too late.”
According to the CDC, everyone 6 months and older in the United States should get a flu vaccine every season.
Szytel urged parents with infants who have just reached the six-month mark to go in and get the influenza vaccine since they represent the highest risk group.
“(The vaccine) is going to help, for sure,” she said.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
