Along with reports of increased flu activity in the United States, especially in the south central and southeastern states, comes the report of the second pediatric flu death of the 2012-13 flu season.
The CDC also reports that:
- One state (Alaska) already has widespread flu activity.
- Six states (Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Mississippi, New York and Ohio) already have regional flu activity.
- Eight states (Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming) already have local flu activity.
- Only three states have no flu activity, with thirty-one states reporting sporadic flu activity.
Could that mean an early flu season? While it is not uncommon to see flu activity in November, keep in mind that it wasn't until February of last year's flu season that we had a flu report like this.
Even in the 2010-11 flu season, we didn't begin to see any states with widespread flu until mid- to late-December.
Although it is still too early to predict if we will indeed have an early flu season or if we will have another mild flu season, it remains clear that this is a great time to get a flu vaccine and get protected for the rest of this year's flu season.
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