The Untold Toll Of The Flu - California Healthline

California’s Department of Public Health says the flu killed 329 people under age 65 in the last flu season, from October 2017 to August 2018.

But that is likely only a small fraction of the total deaths in the nation’s most populous state because the department didn’t count the hundreds of deaths of people 65 and older. The state figure could account for just 1 in 10 flu deaths.

Read more about how the state tracks flu deaths in Harriet Blair Rowan’s coverage.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>The Untold Toll Of The Flu</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2018-12-05T02:00:27-08:00">
			December 5, 2018		</time>
		</div>
<p>California’s Department of Public Health says the flu killed <a href="https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Immunization/Week2017-1833_FINALReport.pdf">329 people</a> under age 65 in the last flu season, from October 2017 to August 2018.</p><p>But that is likely only a small fraction of the total deaths in the nation’s most populous state because the department didn’t count the hundreds of deaths of people 65 and older. The state figure could account for just 1 in 10 flu deaths.</p><p>Read more about how the state tracks flu deaths in <a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/california-tracking-flu-deaths-seniors/">Harriet Blair Rowan’s coverage</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-untold-toll-of-the-flu/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-untold-toll-of-the-flu/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-untold-toll-of-the-flu/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20The%20Untold%20Toll%20Of%20The%20Flu&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2FMjk4NTg4&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/the-untold-toll-of-the-flu/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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