Flu Deaths Could Have Been Prevented

Nearly all of the Gainesville-area residents who died from flu this season didn’t have vaccinations. And flu shots may have prevented those illnesses, says the Gainesville Sun’s editorial board. A record number of school-age children in Alachua County were vaccinated last year, but the town’s huge population of college-age students also should be a priority for getting flu shots, the board said. The University of Florida’s Shands Hospital reported that 11 of the 12 patients who have died from flu since October were not vaccinated against influenza.