3 Kentucky Children Have Died Due to the Flu

According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, two more children have died in Kentucky due to the Flu, making it a total of 3 children dead during Flu Season.

“We are committed to doing all that we can to protect the health and safety of those in Kentucky,” Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Department for Public Health, said in a press release. “It is important that we take the necessary precautions, such as staying up to date on vaccinations, washing hands regularly with soap and water, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home when sick, to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the harm that viruses such as influenza and COVID-19 can cause.”

“We share this information not to scare folks, but to let them know that illnesses like the flu and COVID-19 can become serious,” Dr. Stack said in the release. “Fortunately, there are precautions people can take to decrease the risk of serious illness. Vaccines are safe and effective at lowering one’s risk of infection, hospitalization and death.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone older than 6 months get a flu and COVID-19 vaccine. The cabinet said vaccines can be given anytime during the respiratory virus season, which extends through April.

The CDC has described this respiratory virus season as the worst in 15 years, according to the cabinet. There are two co-dominant strands of flu spreading in the community, and unvaccinated people who have already had the flu this season are still vulnerable to other strands.

According to the Cabinet, the last two deaths were reported in the Barren River District and Jefferson County last week, and the first one was reported in February.

You can find the nearest place offering vaccines at www.vaccines.gov.