WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPLG/WTXL) - A 12-year-old boy in West Palm Beach has died from the flu, his family says.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's told ABC affiliate WPLG Local 10 that deputies were called to a home Tuesday afternoon and found the boy dead.
The family told WPLG that Dylan Winnik was fine Saturday while attending a birthday party. However, the boy came down with cold-like symptoms Sunday.
By Tuesday, his condition worsened and a neighbor called 911.
"We just honestly thought it was a common cold, because it happens," Dylan's brother told WPLG. "Even I had a cold, like, a week before him, and it just happens."
WPLG reports Dylan was a seventh-grade student at Okeeheelee Middle School in West Palm Beach. Parents says D
His family is using a GoFundMe page to collect money to help pay for funeral expenses.
"There is nothing that can ever explain the loss of a beautiful child at such an early age," wrote Michael Medwin, Dylan's step-father, on GoFundMe. "Dylan was highly intelligent, surprisingly funny, and always full of life busy with his two brothers."
The Florida Department of Health says that two other children have died from the flu in the state. Those children, and Dylan, were not vaccinated.
Florida is among the 26 states where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting widespread flu activity.
Doctors tell WPLG the increase in flu cases may be in part because the flu vaccine may be less effective than usual this season. The CDC said it's usually 50 percent effective. This year the flu shot is about 32 percent effective.
WPLG spoke with the family and community about Dylan's passing. You can find their full report here.
