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Colorado reports first child flu death of 2026-27 respiratory season
The elementary-aged child lived outside the Denver area, and state records show no flu vaccination for this season. Health officials urge residents to get vaccinated as flu hospitalizations rise and uptake remains low.
Colorado health officials have confirmed the first pediatric flu death of the 2026-27 respiratory virus season: an elementary-aged child who lived outside the Denver metro area. The state has no record that the child received a flu vaccine this season, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said Oct. 14.
“We send our profound sympathy to the family as they navigate this heartbreaking loss,” department spokesperson Hope Shuler said.
The death comes after a severe season for Colorado children. Eight children died from flu last season, the highest total in more than two decades outside the 2009-10 H1N1 pandemic season. Five of those eight children were unvaccinated; state records had no vaccination information for four, while one was younger than 6 months and too young to receive the shot.
Flu activity is beginning to increase, though reported case levels remain relatively low. As of Oct. 15, 58 people in Colorado were hospitalized with flu, about a dozen more than the previous week and the highest number since late April.
Vaccination rates also remain low. About 8% of Colorado children ages 6 months to 9 years and 5% of those ages 10 to 19 had received a flu shot so far this season, according to the state. Overall, 9.5% of residents had been vaccinated since September began—about one percentage point below the same point last season. The rate among Hispanic Coloradans was about 3%.
Dr. Michelle Barron, an infectious diseases physician at UCHealth, said flu can be dangerous even for otherwise healthy people. She urged families not to assume children without underlying conditions are protected from serious illness.
“The flu is not a cold,” Barron said, noting that flu can cause severe symptoms and complications. Flu, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines are available at Colorado pharmacies, clinics and doctors’ offices, with free or low-cost options, according to the state.