El Paso officials have confirmed the season's first flu-related death, involving a young girl described as having no underlying health conditions. The case has alarmed local health officials precisely because the child was otherwise healthy, underscoring that influenza does not only threaten those with existing vulnerabilities.
According to KDBC/CBS4, the City of El Paso Department of Public Health confirmed the death, with Dr. Hector Ocaranza, the city-county local health authority, offering condolences. Different parts of the available reporting describe the child's age differently: the station's headline identifies her as 13, while other text in the same report describes the victim as a girl under 13 with no underlying health conditions. Dr. Ocaranza said that influenza can be serious even for healthy children, and he reiterated that vaccination remains the most effective way to reduce severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
Health Officials Renew Vaccination Push
Dr. Ocaranza urged everyone aged 6 months and older to get vaccinated against the flu, a call he has made in past seasons as well. He expressed the same message when El Paso's Department of Public Health confirmed the first flu-related death of the 2024-25 respiratory season, as reported by KFOX14, saying at the time, “We strongly urge everyone aged 6 months and older to get their flu shot.”
That December 2024 case involved a girl under age 13 who had underlying health conditions, according to the same KFOX14 report, which also named young children, pregnant women, adults 65 and older, and people with chronic health conditions as high-risk groups. Months earlier, in April 2024, El Paso reported its first confirmed flu-related death of that year involving a boy younger than 13 with underlying health issues, El Paso Times reported, with Dr. Ocaranza saying then, “We are saddened to report the death of a child, and send our deepest condolences to the family members.”
What Influenza Does and Who Is Most at Risk
Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs, and it can cause serious complications including pneumonia and death, per the KDBC/CBS4 report. Health officials continue to flag young children, pregnant women, adults 65 and older, and people with chronic health conditions as the groups facing the highest risk of severe illness.
Beyond vaccination, officials recommend everyday precautions: washing hands regularly, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home when sick to limit the virus's spread. El Paso Community Clinics offer vaccines for eligible children aged 6 months through 18 years, and according to a city release, free flu vaccines are available to individuals 6 months of age and older at the City's Community Clinics. The Texas Vaccines for Children program separately provides no-cost vaccines to eligible children 18 years old and younger, per the City of El Paso.
Rising Flu Activity Beyond El Paso
El Paso's case arrives amid signs of an active flu season elsewhere. In Colorado, health officials confirmed the first reported pediatric influenza-associated death of the 2026-27 respiratory virus season in an elementary-aged child from outside the Denver metro area, KKTV reported, noting there was no record that the child had received the 2026-27 flu vaccine. Flu activity has been increasing across Colorado, with hospitals reporting more positive tests and flu-related hospitalizations, the station said, adding that the state recorded 5,931 flu-related hospitalizations during the 2025-26 season, including 1,169 involving children, with eight pediatric deaths that season.
In North Texas, Children's Health reported a 30% increase in flu cases over a two-week span, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, which cited roughly 100 cases in the first week of October followed by 136 the next week. Nationally, there were 148 flu-related pediatric deaths across the United States during the 2023-24 season, per El Paso Times reporting at the time.
El Paso's Vaccination Record
El Paso has historically posted strong childhood vaccination numbers. El Paso County kindergarteners had the highest vaccination rates among those in Texas's 10 most populated counties during the last school year, with both kindergarten and seventh-grade vaccination rates exceeding 97% for all childhood vaccines, according to El Paso Matters. The outlet separately reported that flu and COVID-19 activity in El Paso peaked in mid-December 2025, with wastewater monitoring showing a jump in influenza A activity shortly before Thanksgiving that year.
Flu activity in Texas usually peaks in January or February, though the peak has occurred as early as October, according to Texas DSHS guidance on influenza-associated pediatric mortality. El Paso has also seen case counts climb in recent years, with 722 flu cases reported from October through December 2023, compared with 280 cases during the same period in 2022, per KFOX14. As this season's first local death is confirmed, officials are repeating a familiar message: vaccination, basic hygiene, and staying home while sick remain the best tools available to limit the virus's toll.
