BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The level of the flu in Vermont has risen from “regional” to “widespread,” the state Health Department has said.
“We are at peak season for flu, strep and other communicable diseases that spread easily in winter when people are generally indoors,” spokesman Ben Truman told the Rutland Herald on Thursday.
Vermont was in the average range for flu activity, he said. Several flu outbreaks had been reported this week, he said.
In one case, nearly half of the 108 students at Mount Holly School in Rutland County were absent this week due to illness, reportedly from either flu or strep throat, he said.
Sharonlee Trefry, state school nurse consultant, sent a memo to school nurses earlier this month, sayng it was not too late to encourage people to get a flu vaccination.
“Flu vaccination is particularly important for protecting students and school employees who are at high risk due to pregnancy, certain health conditions or weakened immune systems,” she wrote in the memo.
Students and staff were encouraged get vaccinated but not enough did, she said.
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