California: First Flu Death of the 2016 – 2017 Season

Every year, health officials and medical professionals encourage patients to get their flu shots. While it may seem like a hassle, it’s important that people take the time to get vaccinated. The flu isn’t just an inconvenient illness – it can be a deadly one as well. In fact, the first flu-related death of the year was recently announced by California public health officials.

The Deadliness of the Flu Virus

The individual that died as a result of the flu virus was only identified as being under the age of 65. They passed away in Los Angeles County. The state public health department does not release any identifying information about victims for privacy reasons.

Many Americans choose not to be vaccinated for the virus due to a number of reasons. Some simply don’t want to take the time out of their day to go get vaccinated. Some are put off by the symptoms that they experienced following a flu shot on a previous occasion. Some mistakenly think that they don’t need to get vaccinated again if they’ve already had a flu shot in the past. Because different flu strains develop every year, a new vaccination is needed every year as well.

Because the flu is a common sickness that everyone knows about and that many have experienced, few realize that it can be as deadly as it has been. In fact, not only has someone already died in California as a result of the flu this year, but there have already been reports of 11 additional flu-related cases that required intensive care unit treatment. There have already been five reported flu outbreaks as well.

There are thousands of flu-related deaths every year in the United States. In particularly bad years, there have been as many as tens of thousands of deaths related to the flu. Additionally, the flu affects millions of people and results in hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations.

Be sure to get vaccinated for the flu this year. To keep up with all the most recent health-related news, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.

#fluseason