Eight people have died from the flu since flu season started last September. KWTV Channel 9 News in Oklahoma City reported Jan. 10 the flu has hit eastern Oklahoma hard.
“My entire family has the flu now,” Gabby Porter, a mother of two from Oklahoma City, said. “We had a fight as to who would go to the store to get medicine. I lost. The only one of us well enough to be out and about is our youngest daughter, who is in kindergarten. She can't drive to the store.”
Half of the flu-related deaths have been people over the age of 65. The remaining four deaths were between the ages of 19 to 64. So far, no children in Oklahoma have died due to the flu.
“I can't take the flu shot because of my allergies,” Porter explained. “I've had the flu before, but never this bad. I can't get into the doctor because she is completely booked. I'm afraid I'll catch something else if I go to the hospital. Not that it would help much now. It needs to run its course.”
There have been 345 people in Oklahoma that have been hospitalized with the flu. At the time of publication, it was unknown how many of those people are still in the hospital or if any of the eight who have already died were in the hospital when they lost their lives to the flu.
Although the flue shot isn't 100% effective, it is still the best way to protect yourself from the flu. Public health officials are urging people to get the flu shot. This is especially true for high-risk groups such as the elderly, children and those with other health conditions.
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