DENVER — One month into the flu season and 10 people in Colorado already have been hospitalized with the virus.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is urging people to get a flu shot.
Last season, workers tracked the highest number of hospital visits recorded because of the flu.
Health care workers hope they push even more people to get vaccinated this year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while Colorado so far has a minimal number of flu cases, it’s seeing more reports of it than most other states.
Christine Schmidt with the Jefferson County Public Health Department said this is a busy time of year with people getting flu shots.
Last season’s vaccine wasn’t as effective because it didn’t cover one of the most dangerous strains.
Jefferson County Public Health Department’s nurse supervisor said researcher look at the flu season in countries such as Australia when making the vaccine for this year’s season.
“They look to other hemispheres and it takes about six months to develop the vaccine,” Schmidt said. “So they are really predicting based on what is going on on the other side of the Earth at that time and then working to determine what is the best match for winter here.”
Health experts say if 90 percent of the population got the shot, there would be very little flu incidents in the U.S.