Unvaccinated child dies from flu in the US

On Monday, the Florida Department of Health revealed that a child had died from flu. The unnamed child had not gotten a flu vaccination.

Officials said the child died between September 30 and October 6. The department didn’t reveal the child’s name, age, gender or location for privacy reasons.

The child’s death was the first influenza-related pediatric death reported in the country this flu season. They had tested positive for influenza B before dying.

The child also didn’t have any underlying medical issues and it wasn't clear if the child was not going to remain unvaccinated or if vaccination was meant to occur later. The death stood out because it occurred before any significant outbreaks in Florida.

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. It also occurred before many people received the vaccination.

Federal health officials have recommended that people should get the flu shot before the end of this month. On Tuesday, in an email, the spokesman for the department addressed the matter.

Brad Dalton wrote:

“While rare, these deaths do occur every year, mostly in unvaccinated children with underlying health condition. Annual vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from influenza and its potentially severe complications.”

Officials said the child’s death wasn’t necessarily an indication of how deadly the 2018 - 2019 flu season would be in the state. Federal health officials revealed that last season saw more than 80,000 Americans die of the flu.

This was the highest number in over a decade. Only 180 of the people were young children and teenagers, 8 of which were in Florida.

The US flu vaccine for this year will protect users against at least three strains of the flu according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These include two types of influenza A and one influenza B.

Influenza is an infectious disease commonly known as "the flu” and is caused by an influenza virus. Its symptoms can be mild to severe.

The most common symptoms include high fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pains, headache, coughing, sneezing, and feeling tired.