Record flu hospitalizations for Colorado this season

(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
<p>Pharmacist Jason To gives a flu shot to Joao Ferreira during the Flu + You event at Montclair Recreation Center, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in Denver.</p>

Flu season is hitting Colorado hard this winter, with hospitalizations hitting record peaks. The health department reports more than 2,700 hospitalizations from 57 counties.

That’s nearly 600 more than during a pandemic five years ago. It’s also the most since hospitalizations became a reportable condition a decade ago.

In addition, three children have died from the flu this season. But seniors represent the largest share of hospitalizations at 62 percent.

More than a hundred long-term care facilities have reported flu outbreaks. That’s the highest number in a decade.