Flu kills 22 more children, bringing toll to 84 kids as worst season in a decade continues
The worst flu season in a decade continues to take a grim toll, with 22 more child deaths reported Friday, bringing the total to 84.
The latest update, posted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also shows that the flu remained widespread in 48 states.
In a press conference Thursday about flu vaccines, acting CDC director Anne Schuchat said the flu season is far from over, even after 12 weeks of unusually persistent coast-to-coast misery.
“This flu season continues to be extremely challenging and intense, with very high levels of office visits for flu and hospitalization rates, all indications that flu activity is high and likely to continue for several more weeks,” she said.
Read the full article at USA Today.
Kilian Daugherty, 1, gets his nose cavity swabbed for the flu by emergency department technician Jake Weatherford as his sister Madison, left, waits to be examined as well for flu symptoms at Upson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston, Ga., Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. The flu has further tightened its grip on the U.S. This season is now as bad as the swine flu epidemic nine years ago. A government report out Friday shows 1 of every 13 visits to the doctor last week was for fever, cough and other symptoms of the flu. That ties the highest level seen in the U.S. during swine flu in 2009. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Reed Olson, 8, gets a flu shot at a Dekalb County health center in Decatur, Ga., Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. The U.S. government’s latest flu report released on Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, showed flu season continued to intensify the previous week, with high volumes of flu-related patient traffic in 42 states, up from 39 the week before. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Reed Olson, 8, gets a flu shot at a Dekalb County health center in Decatur, Ga., Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. The U.S. government’s latest flu report released on Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, showed flu season continued to intensify the previous week, with high volumes of flu-related patient traffic in 42 states, up from 39 the week before. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Kilian Daugherty, 1, gets his nose cavity swabbed for the flu by emergency department technician Jake Weatherford as his sister Madison, left, waits to be examined as well for flu symptoms at Upson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston, Ga., Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. The flu has further tightened its grip on the U.S. This season is now as bad as the swine flu epidemic nine years ago. A government report out Friday shows 1 of every 13 visits to the doctor last week was for fever, cough and other symptoms of the flu. That ties the highest level seen in the U.S. during swine flu in 2009. (AP Photo/David Goldman)