Just in time for spooky season, the flu has begun skulking back through Colorado, worrying health officials who fear a repeat of last year's record-breaking run of infections, the Colorado Sun reported. The early start to flu season has prompted calls for vaccination across the state.
Last respiratory virus season was Colorado's worst on record for children. The state recorded 5,931 flu-related hospitalizations, a record 1,169 of them in children, and eight children in Colorado died from the flu, according to state health data cited by Broomfield Public Health and Environment.
Health officials urge everyone 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year, ideally by the end of October. It takes two weeks after getting the vaccine for full protection to build, and flu is already spreading in Colorado. Vaccines are available across the state at pharmacies, primary care and pediatric offices, local public health agencies and community health centers, often for free.
The early arrival of influenza, combined with the memory of last season's severe toll on children, has health departments pushing hard on prevention messaging. KFF Health News, which flagged the Colorado warning in its morning briefing, noted that the combination of an early start and a severe prior season is exactly the pattern epidemiologists watch most closely each autumn.
Health officials urge everyone 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year, ideally by the end of October, since it takes about two weeks for full protection to build. Vaccines are widely available at pharmacies, primary care and pediatric offices, local public health agencies and community health centers across Colorado, often at no cost. Broomfield Public Health and Environment's immunization clinic offers flu vaccines for eligible families, according to the county's public health notice.
The combination of an early start and a severe prior season is exactly the pattern epidemiologists watch most closely each autumn. With flu already spreading in Colorado and last year's record toll on children still fresh, officials are pushing prevention messaging hard in the hope of blunting what could otherwise become another punishing winter for hospitals.