Data released today shows influenza is spreading earlier this year and at least 36 states have an outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 21 of those states have high flu activity.  It is not yet clear whether this will be a bad winter season for the flu, though it is known this year's vaccine is not adequately covering this strain.

Click here to see which states have reported widespread flu activity and get more information from the CDC.

"Nationwide, 12 children have died due to flu this season, while a total of 2,485 flu-related hospitalizations -- nearly nine for every 100,000 people -- have been reported so far," reports CNN. "The highest rate of hospitalization was among adults 65 or older, followed by adults between 50 and 64 and then children up to 4 years old."

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