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WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton has been discharged from a Washington, D.C. hospital after he was admitted on Monday for influenza.
"President Clinton was discharged earlier today after being treated for the flu," his deputy chief of staff Angel Ureña posted on social media. "He and his family are deeply grateful for the exceptional care provided by the team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and are touched by the kind messages and well wishes he received. He sends his warmest wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season to all."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu cases are on the rise across the country. The agency estimates there have been at least 1.9 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 970 deaths from flu so far this season.
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Flu cases on the rise
The U.S. flu season is underway, with cases surging across much of the country, health officials said.
Flu experts suggest everyone get vaccinated, especially as people prepare to attend holiday gatherings where respiratory viruses can spread widely.
Clinton's previous health issues
In October 2021, the 78-year-old was hospitalized for urological infection.
Thirteen states reported high or very high levels of flu-like illness earlier this month. One is Tennessee, where a sickness spike is hitting the Nashville area, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University.
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In the years since Clinton left the White House in 2001, the former president has faced health scares. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pains and shortness of breath. He returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 he had a pair of stents implanted in a coronary artery.
He responded by embracing a largely vegan diet that saw him lose weight and report improved health.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
He repeatedly returned to the stump, campaigning for Democratic candidates, mostly notably his wife, Hillary, during her failed 2008 bid for the presidential nomination. And in 2016, as Hillary Clinton sought the White House as the Democratic nominee, Bill Clinton — by then a grandfather and nearing 70 — returned to the campaign trail.
Clinton, a Democrat who served two terms as president from January 1993 until January 2001, addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer and campaigned ahead of November's election for the unsuccessful White House bid of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.