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The child died between the week of Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, the state’s Department of Public Health reported.
An eighth Massachusetts child has died from the flu this flu season, state data shows.
As of Feb. 28, eight Massachusetts children have died from the influenza, as well as 298 adults, the state’s influenza data base indicates. The latest pediatric death occurred sometime between Feb. 15 and Feb 21.
The first two pediatric flu deaths occurred during the week of Dec. 21 and Dec. 25, and, within the next week, three more children died.
Though flu season is nearing its end, infectious disease experts still advise the public to get vaccinated from the flu.
“We as infectious disease physicians still believe that everybody six months and older should get the flu shot,” Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, senior physician in the division of infectious diseases at Mass General Brigham, told Boston.com in January.
As of Feb. 28, 38.1 percent of residents of Massachusetts had received this season’s flu vaccine, data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health vaccine database indicated.
During the last week of February, flu severity was low, while flu-like activity was deemed to be moderate.
During the week of Feb. 28, flu activity was low in Boston, the state’s Department of Public Health flu chart said.
“While the flu is usually mild, it can cause hospitalization and death. Children under the age of two are at higher risk. Parents should get their children ages six months and older vaccinated as soon as possible to decrease the risk of severe complications,” Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Boston’s commissioner of public health, said in a press release in January, when the City of Boston announced its first pediatric flu deaths since 2013.
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