Florida Grandparents Die From Flu Days Apart Without Vaccines

In the midst of one of the worst flu seasons in recent memory, both members of a Florida couple passed away less than two weeks apart after exhibiting flu symptoms. Charles Thornton, 63, and his wife Kathryn Barber, 60, did not get flu vaccines and passed away during a particularly brutal January flu outbreak, Action News Jax reported..

Thornton’s symptoms were bad enough that he was going to visit a doctor on Jan. 19, but he did not make it, according to stepdaughter Missty Estell. His wife went to the hospital that day, where she died 11 days afterward. After 36 years of marriage, the two passed away days apart.

The family set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with the costs associated with the couple’s deaths.

Thornton and Barber did not get flu shots, which has been a risky proposition this winter. School districts across the country have had to close not because of heavy snowfall, but because of widespread flu symptoms, according to Vox. With hospitals overflowing and examples of people like Thornton and Barber dying from their symptoms, it has been one of the worst flu seasons in recent years.

Vox’s report stated senior citizens 65 and older have been hospitalized at the highest rate of any demographic, with the age group just below that in second place. This is all because this season’s flu strain is the notoriously damaging and difficult H3N2. Even flu vaccines have not worked perfectly to prevent H3N2 from taking hold in the population. Still, the CDC recommends getting a flu shot immediately for those who have not done it yet.