Indiana reports 1st flu death of 2021-22 season

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Hoosier has died from the flu, the first death of the 2021-22 season, the Indiana Department of Health said Friday.

No information was given about the person or when he or she died. The health department cited privacy laws.

Indiana on Fridays updates its weekly influenza reports on its website.

In the 2020-21 flu season, seven Hoosiers died after contracting influenza, a news release said. In 2019-20, 137 Hoosiers lost their lives to the disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said flu spread in Indiana was minimal last week.

The CDC estimated from 24,000 to 62,000 people died of the flu from Oct. 1, 2019, to April 4, 2020.

Drugstores and other medical businesses offer influenza vaccines. The state will have influenza vaccines available Tuesday-Saturday at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic across from Gate 2 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway through Oct. 30. To find additional locations by ZIP code, visit vaccine.gov.