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(KSL News) Thirty-six thousand people die annually from the flu. Two-hundred thousand more are hospitalized. Combine that with pneumonia, and you have the seventh leading cause of death in America.
Many of those who die are children, usually because they have not been vaccinated. There is now a push by pediatricians and families to get kids vaccinated. It's called Families Fighting Flu.
One family who lost a child to the flu, says the importance can't be overstated.
Jennifer Lastinger, Lost Daughter to the Flu, "Emily was healthy and she came down with the flu. She was diagnosed with the flu at our pediatrician's. She had a normal case of the flu. There was really nothing remarkable about her illness and it ended up taking her life."
They say kids need to be vaccinated. Their immune systems aren't as strong as adults'. In fact, they are two to three times more likely to get the flu than adults.
Jennifer Lastinger: "I wish that parents are just aware of the seriousness of the flu. IT's nothing to play games with."
