Spokane sees first flu death of season over week of Christmas

The first influenza death in Spokane County occurred last week, leading local health officials to warn about the seriousness of the respiratory virus and encouraging residents to get vaccinated.

According to the Spokane Regional Health District, the person was in their 60s and had underlying health conditions. They were among 52 Spokane County residents who have been hospitalized for the disease this flu season.

“Unfortunately, this is a sad example of how serious flu can be,” said SRHD health officer Francisco Velázquez in a statement. “Our hearts are with the family and friends who are grieving this terrible loss.”

Across the whole flu season last year, which typically runs from the beginning of fall to early Spring, 20 Spokane County residents died from flu. There were a total of 134 flu-related deaths in Washington state in the 2023-2024 flu season. According to SRHD epidemiologist Mark Springer, the disease tends to peak in January or February and the death is “not atypical” for the time in the season.

“People who are older, who have other medical conditions are at the highest risk,” he said. “We’re still relatively in the early stages of flu season so it is hard to say this is going to be more severe as a flu season for hospitalizations or deaths compared to past years.”

So far the patterns of the flu season have been “very typical” for Spokane County.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. Some people, such as those over the age of 65, young children, pregnant women, American Indian/Alaska Natives and those with certain health conditions, are at higher risk for serious flu complications.

People who have the flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:

• Fever or chills.
• Cough.
• Sore throat.
• Runny or stuffy nose.
• Muscle or body aches.
• Headaches.
• Extreme fatigue.

Even though flu season is in full swing, Springer said it is not too late to get vaccinated.

“It takes about two weeks to get really good protection after the flu vaccine. So if you get it now, you should still have that protection for a lot of the peak of the season. There’s still a significant benefit to getting vaccinated right now, so we would encourage that,” he said.

Spokane County is also experiencing an outbreak of whooping cough, which has had 271 cases reported this year, compared to just 54 cases a year prior.

In comparison, COVID cases are down compared to last year. In December 2023 there were 174 COVID hospitalizations in Spokane County, compared to 37 this month.