Maricopa County Infant Dies Amid 'Early And Heavy' Flu Season

Published: Tuesday, December 10, 2019 - 3:16pm
Updated: Wednesday, December 11, 2019 - 8:06am
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A Maricopa County infant has died of influenza. This is the first pediatric flu death of 2019.

The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone over the age of 6 months. The infant who died was younger than that.

“We don’t get the flu vaccine just to protect ourselves, we get it to protect our family members, especially infants who are too young to get vaccinated and seniors who don’t respond as well to the vaccine.” said Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, medical director for disease control with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. 

Sunenshine said this year’s flu season has been "early and heavy," with about four times as many flu cases reported in Maricopa County compared with this time last year. This year’s circulating strains have infected more children and young adults than in previous years.

Science