TOLEDO, Ohio — Editor's note: The above video originally aired Feb. 21, 2022.
Ohio has recorded its first pediatric flu-associated death of the season, officials with the Ohio Department of Health announced Friday.
An 8-month-old boy died with the flu in Ashland County, the department said. The Ashland County Health Department investigated the death.
So far this flu season, 972 flu-associated hospitalizations have been reported in Ohio.
At this point in the 2020-2021 season, there were 108 reported hospitalizations and at this time in the 2019-2020 flue season, 10,450 hospitalizations had been reported.
Experts believe COVID-19 mitigation measures, such as wearing face masks, staying home, washing hands, closing schools, reducing travel, increasing ventilation of indoor spaces and distancing physical likely contributed to the decline in 2020-2021 flu incidence and hospitalizations.
Flu activity typically peaks between December and February.
More information about flu and flu activity in Ohio is available at www.flu.ohio.gov.
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