科罗拉多确认本流感季首例儿童死亡 州卫生部门呼吁接种疫苗
科罗拉多州公共卫生与环境部10月15日宣布，确认本呼吸道病毒季首例儿童流感死亡病例。死者为一名小学学龄儿童，居住在丹佛都会区以外，卫生部门没有该儿童接种本季流感疫苗的记录，部门未公布更多细节。
州卫生部门发言人霍普·舒勒表示："我们向这个家庭致以最深切的慰问，愿他们度过这段令人心碎的时期。"卫生部门提醒，科罗拉多州的流感季通常从10月初持续到次年5月底，而今年流感活动上升的时间比往年更早，医院报告的流感阳性检测与住院人数均高于往年同期水平。
数据显示，上一个流感季科罗拉多州有8名儿童死于流感，其中5人未接种疫苗，是二十多年来（除20 09年H1N1大流行外）最多的一年。卫生部门呼吁所有6个月以上居民接种年度流感疫苗，称疫苗是预防重症流感的最强保护，接种后约两周才能建立充分保护力，万圣节聚会与假日出行临近，家长应尽早安排孩子接种。
Colorado Confirms Season's First Child Flu Death; Health Officials Urge Vaccination
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced on Oct. 15 the state's first confirmed pediatric flu death of this respiratory virus season. The child was of elementary-school age and lived outside the Denver metro area; the department had no record of the child receiving this season's flu vaccine and released no further details.
Department spokesperson Hope Shuler said: "We extend our deepest condolences to this family and hope they find comfort during this heartbreaking time." Officials noted that Colorado's flu season typically runs from early October through late May, and flu activity is rising earlier this year than usual, with reported positive tests and hospitalizations above the levels of recent years at this point.
Last flu season, eight Colorado children died of flu, five of them unvaccinated — the highest toll in more than two decades outside the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. The department urges everyone six months and older to get the annual flu shot, calling it the strongest protection against severe illness; full protection takes about two weeks to build, and with Halloween gatherings and holiday travel approaching, parents should schedule children's vaccinations early.
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图片来源：图：丹佛的科罗拉多州议会大厦（资料图）。照片：xiquinhosilva／Wikimedia Commons（CC BY 2.0）。The Colorado State Capitol in Denver (file photo). Photo: xiquinhosilva / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
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