CDC: Flu season nearing the end (VIDEO)
Alina Pastoriza Garcia, ARNP-NP-C, administers a flu vaccination to Russell Waddey at the CVS/pharmacy’s MinuteClinic on December 4, 2012 in Miami, Florida. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that they are seeing significant increases in flu activity in the U.S. in the last two weeks indicating that an early flu season is underway and are encouraging people to get vaccinated.
The CDC says the worst of this year's early, brutal flu season is nearing the end.
The latest reports show flu activity is down in most areas with the exception of the West Coast, where the flu arrived later and will stick around a bit longer, USA Today reported.
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Epidemiologist Michael Jhung predicted an end to the worst of the season in two to three weeks.
"We're not at the end but we're nearing the end," he told USA Today.
This year's flu season started about a month earlier than normal and has caused numerous deaths, particularly among children and the elderly.
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On Friday, 14 more flu deaths among children were reported for a total of 59 this season, CNN reported.
While that's way more than the 34 child deaths reported last year, it pales in comparison to the 282 pediatric deaths reported in the 2009-10 season, according to CNN.
Thirty-eight states reported widespread flu activity this past week, down from 42 states the week before, according to the CDC.
Despite the deaths and early start, this year's flu season is officially considered "moderately severe" by health officials, The Associated Press reported.