Flu season is officially under way in Colorado with the state’s first reported hospitalization for influenza this week in El Paso County.
The sick infant has since been allowed to return home, the state health department said.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment tracks flu-related hospitalizations.
During the 2007-2008 flu season, Colorado’s first flu-related hospitalization was reported on Nov. 12.
“This first hospitalization reminds us that flu is a serious illness that deserves our attention,” Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the health department, said today, in a statement urging vaccinations.
Up to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year, with more than 200,000 hospitalizations nationwide, according to the health department.
Each year about 36,000 Americans die from influenza. Older people, young children and people with some health conditions are at higher risk for flu complications.
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