Flu Kills 36 In Pierce County, But Season May Be Winding Down

UNIVERSITY PLACE, WA - The Pierce County Health Department is reporting that 36 people have died of flu during this season, with 26 in January alone - that's more flu deaths than in any of the three previous flu seasons.

Although this has been a particularly deadly flu season, the health department is reporting that influenza hospitalizations are trending down. Influenza hospitalizations in Pierce County peaked at over 100 in early January and have trended sharply down since. Still, there have been more flu hospitalizations in the county during the 2016-17 flu season than in any season dating back to 2013-14.

This season hit older people hardest. Seventy-three percent of people hospitalized were age 60 and older, and 32 of the total number of deaths were people above age 60. In January, the health department reported that a child under 10 died of flu.

Flu is still widespread in Washington, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Statewide, 172 people have died from flu this year. Out of those, 151 deaths have been people over the age of 65, according to the state Department of Health.

The number of flu deaths in Pierce County this year is more than the total number of deaths statewide during other seasons: In 2011-12, 18 people died statewide; and in 2010-11, 36 people died across the state.

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