Two Connecticut residents infected with the influenza virus have died, the state’s first flu-related deaths of the 2019-20 season, according to state public health officials.
Both were 65 or older, with one from Fairfield County and the other in Litchfield County, according to the Department of Public Health.
Mick Bolduc, vaccine coordinator and epidemiologist for DPH’s Connecticut Immunization Program, urges everyone to get a flu shot.
“You have to get vaccinated at a yearly basis,” Bolduc said. “It’s the best protection that we have, and it really is something that you need to take seriously -- especially for the people that are most vulnerable: the people under 5, the people that are 65 and older, and the people that have chronic health conditions like diabetes, like heart disease.”
DPH says at least 47 people have been hospitalized with the flu since Aug. 25.
“We’ve had two fatalities already,” Bolduc said. “Unfortunately, we’re going to see more.”
Last year, influenza killed 88 Connecticut residents in what Bolduc said was an abnormally long flu season.
