Flu season is intensifying in the U.S. with more than 6 million cases confirmed so far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Monday.
The federal health agency said in a weekly update it has already recorded more than 53,000 hospitalizations and 2,900 deaths from the flu this season, as of the week ending Nov. 19.
Twelve children have died from the flu so far, the CDC said, and the cumulative hospitalization rate is the highest it’s been at this point in the flu season since the 2010-2011 one.
The CDC recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older get vaccinated against the flu annually. Flu season typically starts in October and ends around May, with a peak in December or January. It began six weeks early this year, causing a spike in hospitalization rates.