Officials at the Tennessee Department of Health said on Thursday three children have died from the flu in Tennessee so far this flu season. The TDH said two of the deceased children were from East Tennessee, and the other child that died was from middle Tennessee. Normally the department said 2-3 children die from the flu each season in Tennessee. The highest death toll was 15 children during an epidemic in 2009. This comes as the Centers for Disease Control said Tennessee is one of 36 states seeing some of the highest flu activity in the country. Vanderbilt University Medical Center said it’s seen 211 cases of influenza A and 17 cases of influenza B from July through December. Last season, VUMC only saw 28 confirmed cases of influenza A and three cases of influenza B. This season, experts say not only is the flu peaking earlier, but the cases are more severe. Several school districts around middle Tennessee closed for the week due to widespread illness. Despite reports that the flu vaccine is only 10 percent effective, officials continue to say that people should still be vaccinated.