VDH reports first pediatric flu death of the season – InsideNoVa

The Virginia Department of Health on Thursday announced the states first reported influenza-associated pediatric death for the 2023-24 flu season.

The health department said a child between 5 and 12 years old in Virginias eastern region died from complications associated with flu. To protect the familys privacy, VDH will not provide any further information regarding this death, the agency said in a release.

We at the Virginia Department of Health, are broken hearted and extend our sympathies to the family of this child during this difficult time, state Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Shelton said in the release. Even though the flu is common, it can cause serious illness and even death. I urge everyone who is eligible to receive the flu vaccine to do so not only to protect themselves, but to protect those around them.

Virginia reported five influenza-associated deaths among children during the 2022-23 flu season.

VDH recommends taking three actions to prevent the flu.

Influenza activity is elevated and is expected to increase in Virginia as the weather becomes colder.

For the week ending Dec. 23, emergency department and urgent care visits due to flu-like illness are very high (6.9% of total visits), especially among young children and school-aged children (14.7% and 13.2% of visits, respectively).

The 2023-24 flu season in Virginia is anticipated to be in the typical range of severity. However, even typical seasons vary widely and result in illness, hospitalizations and death, the release said.

"Virginia vaccination coverage for flu remains low for children and adults. The percent of eligible Virginians reporting receipt of a flu vaccine this season is only 27%," the VDH said.

Arecent studyestimated that flu vaccination reduced the risk of flu-related emergency department and urgent care visits by almost half and hospitalization by more than a third among U.S. adults during the 2022-23 season, the release said.

To locate a seasonal flu vaccine near you, you can visitwww.vaccinate.virginia.govor contact your local health department. For further information, call (804) 864-8141.

Visit the VDHRespiratory Diseaseswebsite for current data updates and additional information about respiratory diseases in Virginia.

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VDH reports first pediatric flu death of the season - InsideNoVa