Flu Kills 4-Year-Old Colorado Boy, Mother Says ‘We Feel Like We Failed’

(CBS4) – It’s been an especially rough flu season in Colorado and now influenza has killed a 4-year-old Pueblo boy. It’s the second pediatric death in our state this season.

Najee (credit: CBS)

Officials with Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment say the boy died this week.

His mother, who asked not to be identified, told CBS4 sister station KKTV in Colorado Springs her son started showing symptoms on Sunday. She said his name is Najee and it’s if not known if he was vaccinated for the flu.

“I’m hurting so bad right now and so is his dad and his brothers. Our whole family is hurting. And it’s like we feel like we failed because we did what we had to do. We called the doctors. We called the hospital. We gave them the medicine we were instructed to give. We did everything,” she said in an interview over the phone.

One of her other sons recently tested positive for the flu as well.

A GoFundMe page was set up to cover medical expenses incurred when Najee was in the hospital.

The flu has hospitalized 1,735 people in Colorado so far this season. There were 127 hospitalizations last week.