By admin 
Just in time for spooky season, the flu has begun skulking back through Colorado, worrying health officials who fear a repeat of last year’s record-breaking run of infections.
Colorado recorded more than 5,900 flu-related hospitalizations last year, the most in any season since the state began tracking them in 2004. More than 1,100 of those hospitalizations involved children, also a record. And eight children died during the last flu season, which typically runs from October through May.
A total of 207 people died from the flu in Colorado in the 2025 calendar year, by far the highest number this century. Most of those deaths occurred in people ages 65 and older.
“Last year’s record hospitalizations were a sobering reminder of how serious the flu can be, especially for young children,” Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the deputy chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said in a statement.
That makes the flu’s early arrival in Colorado this year something of a jumpscare.
Through last week, Colorado reported 58 flu hospitalizations, ranking influenza as the most active of the big three respiratory viruses. By comparison, the state reported 39 COVID hospitalizations and four from RSV for the season.
Flu seasons are highly variable. Sometimes they peak by early December. Sometimes they don’t peak until almost spring. Every now and then, they might peak both early and late.
So it’s unclear what the early start this year might mean for the rest of the season, said Dr. Suchitra Rao, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
“It’s still a little too soon to know which direction this is going to go in,” she said.
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But wait, there may be good news
One reason last flu season was so bad was because of the kind of virus circulating, Rao said. The dominant strain was the H3N2 version of influenza A, which is a notorious shape-shifter that can be difficult to match a vaccine to.
Early signs this year point to the H1N1 flu virus as the most common strain, which should bode well for vaccine effectiveness, Rao said.
Similarly, the signals coming from the Southern Hemisphere, which has its flu season before ours, are positive. Rao said countries in the Southern Hemisphere had a less-severe season this year than the prior two years. That also might mean this year’s flu fright will come with less bite.
“But I stopped making predictions about the flu a long time ago,” Rao said.
The time to get vaccinated is now
To doctors like Rao, as well as to public health officials, the uncertainty about whether this flu season will be scary or merry is a good reason to get vaccinated.
Rao said that children who are hospitalized with the flu can have difficulty breathing or rare, but terrifying, complications such as inflammation of the brain or a breakdown of muscle tissue. Among those who are hospitalized, Rao said about half nationwide do not have underlying medical conditions.
CDPHE recommends that everyone 6 months or older should get a flu vaccine each year, ideally by the end of October. Vaccines are widely available at your doctor’s office, clinics, pharmacies or local public health agencies. They are free for anyone with insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare. Those without coverage can also find a free or low-cost vaccine at more than 600 locations in Colorado.
“With flu activity in the state picking up, parents have a critical window right now to protect their families before virus transmission surges,” Herlihy, the CDPHE deputy chief medical examiner, said. “Getting vaccinated is the single most effective way to prevent severe illness and keep children out of the hospital.”
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