A record number of children have died from the flu at this point in the season, reports CNN.
As of Dec. 28, 27 pediatric deaths have occurred this season, according to the CDC's most recent Fluview report. This figure marks the highest death toll seen this early in the season since the CDC first started tracking flu data 17 years ago.
If flu activity continues to rise in the same trajectory, the U.S. could see one of the worst flu seasons in decades, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN in a separate report.