(Indianapolis, IN) - Indiana health officials are encouraging Hoosiers to get vaccinated against influenza after confirming the first flu-related death in the state for the 2022-23 flu season.

 

No additional information about the patient was released due to privacy laws.

 

Last year, 82 Hoosiers died after contracting influenza, according to state health officials.

 

“Every flu season is different, but we expect to see a return of respiratory illnesses such as flu as more individuals relax the mitigation measures they took during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG.

 

“Getting an annual flu shot now, before activity picks up, is the best protection against what can be a serious illness for many Hoosiers,” Box said.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone six months and older get a flu vaccine yearly. Because infants younger than six months can’t be vaccinated, it’s important that anyone in a household where a young baby lives or visits get a flu shot to protect the child.

 

Box said the flu vaccine could be administered simultaneously as the new COVID-19 booster, which protects against two strains of COVID-19.