State Health Officials Release Numbers, Urge Flu Shots

State health officials hope new data released this week will encourage more people to get a flu shot this year. The Department of Health Services reports 379 people died from the flu last year in Wisconsin – which is double the number of flu-related deaths over the previous influenza season. Over 7,500 people were hospitalized across the state last year due to flu-related complications, and only 36-percent of the state’s residents got the vaccine last year.