Fourth Massachusetts Child Dies Of Flu This Year

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MA — Massachusetts health officials on Tuesday announced the fourth flu-related death of a child so far this flu season. The child was identified as a teenage boy from Middlesex County.

"This latest pediatric flu-related death underscores the seriousness of influenza and the need for everyone over the age of 6 months to get vaccinated," Dr. Larry Madoff, medical director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said in a statement. "Data suggests that we may be past the peak of the flu season, however, it is not over yet."

An adolescent boy from Worcester County and two girls from Middlesex County also died from the flu this season. There was only one pediatric flu-related death in Massachusetts last year.

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