BOSTON (AP) - The flu season appears to have arrived early his year, courtesy of an influenza strain that reached the continental United States by hopping a ride on Alaskan cruise ships. Public health officials from Colorado to Massachusetts have kicked off campaigns encouraging people to get vaccinated against the disease, the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that as mush as 20% of the population gets the flu every season. Approximately 20,000 Americans die from flu complications each year.

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