Health officials reported two flu-related deaths in Western Washington by the first week of October, raising concern that this flu season may be starting earlier than usual.
The Snohomish County Health Department said a man in his 70s from Edmonds died October 3 after being hospitalized with influenza A. He had underlying medical conditions. His infection technically occurred at the end of the 2025–26 flu season, but the department is treating the death as the first local death of an early season for practical purposes. In each of the previous three seasons, the county’s first reported flu death came no earlier than November.
Thurston County health officials also reported a flu-related death but gave no details about the person. The county said it recorded no flu deaths in October, November or December 2025.
Snohomish County reported 63 flu hospitalizations since August 30, including 31 in the most recent week. Dr. George Diaz, chief of medicine at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, described an active start to flu season alongside COVID-19 cases. Health officials and medical experts are encouraging earlier flu vaccination.
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