MDH: 6 flu-related hospitalizations this season
(KMSP) - Six people have now been hospitalized for influenza in Minnesota so far this season, health officials said Thursday.
Four of those hospitalizations came in the last week, according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Health. Of the six total cases, three occurred in the Twin Cities metro.
The flu season started on Sept. 30.
MDH is reminding people to get the flu shot to prevent an epidemic like last year, when the state saw a record-high number of hospitalizations with more than 5,000. There were also five pediatric flu-related deaths.
According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention, about 80,000 people died of the flu and complications from the virus last winter, making it the deadliest flu season in at least four decades. A severe strain of the virus and ineffective flu vaccines were factors in the death toll.