HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut has had its first flu death of the season.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced the death Monday just before he was scheduled to appear at a news conference with medical professionals at Hartford Hospital to urge people to get flu shots.
The only detail about the death released was that the victim was over the age of 65. So far this flu season, 22 people in Connecticut have been hospitalized with the flu.
Blumenthal has been a leading voice in calling for increased federal investment in universal flu vaccine development.
Federal officials say more than 80,000 people died nationwide from flu last year, including more than 150 in Connecticut.
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