One hundred and fourteen children in the United States have died from what was supposed to be a simple case of the flu. You have probably heard the endless news updates on more than 11,000 people being admitted to the hospital for influenza disease, and some dying because of it. But why has it been so deadly this year? What changed?

The Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) only has one chance to choose the correct strand of the flu to vaccinate from. From their website, the main factors going into choosing the strand are as follows: “The influenza viruses in the seasonal flu vaccine are selected each year based on surveillance data indicating which viruses are circulating and forecasts about which viruses are the most likely to circulate during the coming season. The degree of similarity between available vaccine viruses and circulating viruses also is important. Vaccine viruses must be similar to the influenza viruses predicted to circulate most commonly during the upcoming season.”

So, it seems that a great amount of research goes into selection which viruses go into the flu vaccine. However, this does not completely prevent it. The H3N2 strain is what has caused these fatalities, as it is rare and the most deadly strain of the flu. This year, as press officer of the CDC Kristen Nordlund describes, “is one of the first years we’ve really seen that widespread activity is everywhere. Flu is really across the board in every state at the same time.”

A simple case of the flu can turn into pneumonia, sepsis, or a heart attack, and this is how it becomes so fatal. This outbreak has lasted since November and showed a peak in late February, so the CDC believes it should be over soon, but because of the virus strand, it may last longer.

The number of students that have been forced to miss class because of the flu is astronomical compared to years before. This affects grades, stress levels and learning ability.