ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – The Virginia Department of Health says two children are dead after contracting the flu. One child between the ages of five and 12 years old died in Eastern Virginia. A teenager died in Central Virginia.
They’re the only pediatric deaths reported for the 2024-25 flu season in the Commonwealth. VDH data shows three children suffered flu-associated deaths last year, but Lisa Sollot, VDH’s respiratory disease program coordinator, says we’re only about halfway through this year’s flu season.
“Half the season is still in front of us and in fact we probably have not yet reached the peak, so probably means the majority of cases are still in front of us in the coming weeks and months,” she said.
She added that urgent care and emergency room visits for respiratory illnesses have risen and only about a third of Virginians are vaccinated against the flu. That’s similar to what VDH reported last year but still leaves a large population without their shots.
Sollot says it’s not too late to get vaccinated with another peak in cases expected in February. The flu shot can not only prevent you from getting sick, but it can stop you from spreading the flu, plus can reduce the severity if you do contract the virus.