DENVER – A child in a Colorado mountain town has died of the flu – the third pediatric flu death of the season – according to a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment official.
The state health official only identified the child as school-aged, adding they could not share any other details about the death to protect the family’s privacy.
Colorado health officials reported the first pediatric flu death of a school-aged child from a rural community outside the Denver metro area in mid-January.
A second pediatric flu-related death was reported the first week of February. The child from southern Colorado was pre-school aged, according to a report from the CDPHE.
Since the end of September, 2,095 people have hospitalized because of the flu in Colorado and the state is considered to have widespread flu activity.
Nationwide, 78 children had died of flu this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health officials said children who are younger than 9 who are getting the vaccine for the first time, and those under 9 who have only previously gotten one dose of the vaccine, should get two doses. The first dose should be given as soon as the vaccine becomes available. The second dose should be given at least 28 days after the first dose.