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U.S. health officials are trying to increase the rate of flu vaccinations this year after a severe outbreak last season killed a record number of children and led to spot shortages of antiviral medications like Tamiflu. In a panel hosted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Washington on Thursday, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams took a nasal vaccine -- an effort, he said, to make flu prevention “go viral.” The lighthearted demonstration was accompanied by grim statistics from the 2017-18 flu season: 80,000 deaths overall, including 180 children. (Dodge, 9/27)

The most recent flu season was the worst in Colorado history with 4,650 residents going to the hospital with the disease between fall 2017 and spring 2018, state officials announced Thursday. In light of that, Colorado health officials are urging people go get vaccinated. ...Last year’s record-setting number of flu hospitalizations in Colorado between Oct. 1, 2017, and May 26 is a clear reminder of how serious and unpredictable the virus can be, [Dr. Rachel] Herlihy said in a news release. (Mitchell, 9/27)

Flu killed and sent more people in the United States to the hospital last winter than any other season in recent history, according to new data released Thursday. And in Minnesota, more than 6,400 people were hospitalized and five children died from influenza or related complications last year. Those stark numbers underscore how severe the flu can be and come with a warning from state public health officials who say that not enough children are being vaccinated. (Zamora, 9/27)