PHOENIX – More than 500 people have died in this year’s flu season, the most in recent memory, according to data released by the Arizona Department of Health Services.
According to those numbers, people over the age of 65 are getting the flu in much higher numbers.
Thirty-one percent of adults age 65 and over tested positive for the flu, the department said. During last year’s flu season, only 17 percent of people 65 and over tested positive.
The state’s figures don’t break down the deaths by age group except to identify two as pediatric patients.
However the Department of Health Services numbers show flu season is gradually ending after it peaked the week of New year’s with 4,000 confirmed cases of the flu.
However, the department warns that there is a backlog of flu tests waiting to be tested and those numbers could rise.