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LOS ANGELES — Most reports about seasonal influenza cite an average of about 36,000 deaths in a typical season, but that number is too high and grossly misleading, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
The actual average is a little more than 23,000, the agency reported. But even that figure is misleading, the report added, because actual numbers over the past 30 years have ranged from 3,300 deaths to nearly 50,000.
The number of deaths in a given year depends on several factors, including how long the flu season lasts and how many people get sick.
