A 4-year-old girl in Iowa who didn't get vaccinated this season was left blind after getting the flu — and her parents said doctors don’t know if she will ever see again, NBC News reported.
Jade DeLucia’s mother took her to the hospital on Christmas Eve when her fever became dangerously high. She spent more than two weeks in the hospital and developed a disease called encephalopathy, a swelling of the brain that caused her to lose her vision.
Doctors told Jade’s mom Amanda Phillips they won’t know if her daughter’s vision loss is permanent for six months.
This season’s flu strains are hitting children particularly hard, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The agency estimates that at least 9.7 million people have had the flu this season, with 87,000 hospitalizations and 4,800 deaths reported so far.
Read the full story on NBCNews.com.
