Ohio’s First Pediatric Flu Death: 16-Year-Old Girl Loses Fight as State Sounds Alarm

A Family’s Nightmare, a State’s Wake-Up Call

COLUMBUS, Ohio — On the last Monday of October, Jennifer Halvorsen kissed her 16-year-old daughter, Lily, good-night and reminded her to finish the history essay due Tuesday. By sunrise, the essay was still open on the dining-room table, but Lily was gone—claimed by an influenza strain that health officials say is hitting teens harder than usual this season.

‘She Was Healthy Yesterday’

"She had a little cough on Sunday, nothing that even rated ibuprofen," Jennifer recalled, voice cracking. "Monday afternoon she said her chest felt heavy. I told her we’d go to urgent care after school. She never made it to school."

At 3 a.m., Lily woke struggling to breathe. Paramedics rushed her to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where she died less than an hour later—Ohio’s first pediatric influenza death of the season and the third nationally.

“Influenza is moving early and aggressively this year,” said Dr. Amy Clark, chief of pediatric infectious disease at the hospital. “We’ve seen a 40 percent jump in teen admissions in just two weeks.”

State Officials Urge Vaccination

Ohio Department of Health data released Tuesday show only 34 percent of adolescents have received this year’s flu shot—down from 42 percent last fall. Health director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff called the numbers “unacceptably low” and announced free vaccination clinics in every county this weekend.

• Clinics open 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
• No insurance or ID required
• High-dose vaccines available for high-risk groups

A Community Mourns

Lily’s theater troupe at Westerville North High School canceled this week’s performance of “Little Women.” Instead, students gathered on the football field Tuesday night, lighting 16 candles—one for every year of Lily’s life. Mourners wore purple, her favorite color, and released biodegradable balloons shaped as music notes; Lily had hoped to study music education.

“She was the kid who remembered everyone’s birthday,” said friend Maya Singh, 17. “She would have hated being the reason we’re all scared now.”

Parents Left with Questions

Jennifer Halvorsen wants answers—and action. “If her death gets one more kid vaccinated, then maybe another mom gets to wake up tomorrow,” she said, clutching a purple scarf Lily knitted last winter.

State epidemiologists are sequencing the virus that killed Lily to determine whether it carries mutations tied to severe teen inflammation. Preliminary results are expected next week.

What Physicians Want Every Parent to Know

Dr. Clark emphasized that antiviral medications like Tamiflu work best within 48 hours of symptom onset. Warning signs that demand an ER visit include:

• Rapid breathing or chest pain
• Blue lips or fingertips
• Confusion or persistent vomiting

“Flu can kill in 24 hours,” she warned. “Don’t wait to see if tomorrow is better.”

A Season Just Beginning

Federal forecasts predict peak flu activity in Ohio by late December. With holiday travel looming, health officials fear Lily’s death may be the first of many unless vaccination rates rise quickly.

Back in Westerville, Jennifer Halvorsen has cleared the dining-room table. On it now sits a single sheet of notebook paper: Lily’s unfinished history essay. Jennifer plans to laminate it and hang it by the front door—"so every visitor remembers why we keep a box of masks and a bottle of hand sanitizer right here," she said, pointing to a small table. "History shouldn’t repeat itself."