Twenty-three Arkansans have died from the flu this season, the Arkansas Department of Health announced Tuesday.
Seventeen people over 65 years old have died, Arkansas Department of Health spokesman Kerry Krell said in an email.
Four of the deaths are in people 45 to 64 years old, and two people aged 25 to 44 years old have died.
Krell said no pediatric deaths have been reported in Arkansas this season, but nationally “this flu season has been pretty severe for the elderly and the very young.”
Forty-five pediatric deaths have been reported nationally, Krell said.
“This [season’s] strain is different from what’s in the flu vaccine, and there are several different types of flu circulating,” she said.
Although the strain is different than what’s in the vaccine, Krell said vaccines are still recommended.
"Some protection is better than no protection," she said.
Vaccines are recommended for “high-risk” patients, such as children under 5, pregnant women, those with a chronic health conditions and people over 65 years old.
The Department of Health tracks the flu starting Sept. 28 from one calendar year to the next, then also follows trends of the illness September through about March.