Pediatric hospitals fill up as flu season approaches (includes video story)

Data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services show that pediatric hospital beds are fuller now than in the past two years.

Doctors are worried the health risk could worsen in the coming weeks as the flu season approaches. According to health officials in Seattle, hospitals and clinics in the area are admitting 20 to 30 respiratory virus cases per day.

Doctors urge parents to get familiar with the signs and symptoms so they can identify the virus in children. Due to the increase in ill patients, hospitals are being forced to make those suffering from milder issues wait hours, if not days, for treatment.

Alexa Velez is a senior at FIU majoring in broadcast media with a concentration in English. She has written for PantherNOW and Caplin News and is a recipient of the NBCU Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Scholarship. She completed her first internship on a national radio station, SLAM! Radio on Sirius XM 145, during the summer. She aims to network with others within the field and continue gaining experience in an effort to grow professionally and perfect her craft as a journalist.