Most U.S. kids still lack a flu or COVID vaccine. It's helping fuel a tripledemic that's slamming hospitals nationwide

A young child receives a COVID vaccination in Brooklyn (Credit: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A majority of the youngest U.S. kids haven’t received a flu or COVID vaccine, according to federal health data—this as hospitals struggle to handle a deluge of patients with respiratory viruses. 

Nearly 58% of children 6 months through 17 years old haven’t received the flu vaccine this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, citing a telephone survey.