Death of SC girl, 18, shows flu season isn’t over yet

A Hanahan teenager who died last week was one of 15 people killed by the flu this season in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

Emily Getman, 18, died April 12 at Medical University of South Carolina, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office told The Post and Courier newspaper.

Getman was a student at Hanahan High School in Berkeley County.

According to data from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, three people died from the flu last week, including Getman, a child younger than 4 years old and an elderly patient.

In total, 62 people in the state have died from the flu this season. DHEC does not break down the deaths by county, but rather by region, to protect people’s privacy, according to a spokesperson there.

Another teenager from Lexington County died from the flu in January, according to The Post and Courier.

Flu activity across South Carolina continued to decrease last week, but flu deaths remain higher than normal this season.

As of the same time last year, 36 deaths from the flu had been reported across the state.

The number of hospitalizations due to the flu have also doubled this year.

Flu season typically runs from October to May, and according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as long as the flu virus is active and causing illness, it is a good idea to get vaccinated.

To find a location near you to get vaccinated, visit http://vaccine.healthmap.org.

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Death of SC girl, 18, shows flu season isn’t over yet."