Tag Archives: influenza

Yahoo News reports: The U.S. flu season is underway, with at least seven states reporting high levels of illnesses and cases rising in other parts of the country, health officials say. The CDC posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina. …

CNBC reports: Patients are now enrolling in an early stage clinical trial to test a universal flu vaccine based on messenger RNA technology, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday. Scientists hope the vaccine will protect against a wide variety of flu strains and provide long-term immunity so people do not have to receive a shot every year. Messenger RNA, …

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first over-the-counter (OTC) at-home diagnostic test that can differentiate and detect influenza A and B, commonly known as the flu, and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The Lucira COVID-19 & Flu Home Test is a single-use at-home test …

Gothamist reports: New York City is experiencing a triple wave of respiratory viruses, and on Friday, city health officials warned residents to take extra precautions. Friday’s health advisory urged New Yorkers to mask up indoors and in crowded spaces, particularly if they’re at risk for severe illness (or know someone who is). The city health department is reporting more than …

CBS News reports: As the holidays near and health care facilities grapple with a “tripledemic” of viral respiratory infections, people are being urged to consider donning masks and calling out sick. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked seasonal spikes in influenza, Sars-CoV-2 — the virus that causes Covid-19 — and respiratory syncytial virus or RSV, three viruses …

Via press release from the CDC: With a potentially severe respiratory season ahead, about half of all US adults remain vulnerable to influenza (flu), according to new data released today by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). The new NFID survey of US adults found that only 49% plan to get a flu vaccine during the 2022-2023 flu season. …

The New York Times reports: Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Supreme Court, was hospitalized with an infection on Friday after experiencing flulike symptoms, the court said in a statement on Sunday. Justice Thomas was being treated with intravenous antibiotics at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, the statement said. “His symptoms are abating, he is resting comfortably, …

The Associated Press reports: February is usually the peak of flu season, with doctors’ offices and hospitals packed with suffering patients. But not this year. Flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades. Experts say that measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, …

The New York Times reports: Despite the horrifying surge of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the United States right now, one bit of good epidemiology news is emerging this winter: It now looks unlikely that the country will endure a “twindemic” of flu and the coronavirus hitting at the same time. That comes as a profound relief to public health …

Reuters reports: Walmart Inc, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, CVS Health Corp and Rite Aid Corp have told Reuters demand for flu shots at their U.S. pharmacies is up sharply – in some cases double from last year – as people try to protect themselves from influenza in the midst of a worsening COVID-19 pandemic.The pharmacies are giving millions more flu …

Axios reports: Public health officials on Thursday urged Americans to get their seasonal flu vaccine early this year, in case the U.S. follows Australia’s season in which the virus hit many people early. While public health officials admit the vaccine is not 100% effective, there’s growing research showing that the vaccine reduces the severe and sometimes deadly complications from the …

STAT News reports: Bill Gates was talking to President Trump in the Oval Office last month when the conversation turned to the notion of a universal flu vaccine — probably, as Gates recalled in an interview, “the longest conversation about universal flu vaccine that the president’s ever had.” “You should associate yourself with American innovation. Wouldn’t you love to have …

Bloomberg reports: The amount of influenza ravaging the U.S. this year rivals levels normally seen when an altogether new virus emerges, decimating a vulnerable population that hasn’t had a chance to develop any defenses. It’s an unexpected phenomenon that public health experts are still trying to decode. The levels of influenza-like illnesses being reported now are as high as the …

CBS News reports: Federal health officials say at least 16 more children died of the flu over the past week and more states are reporting high levels of illness. In a briefing Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the flu outbreak is responsible for at least 53 child deaths so far this season. “Hospitalizations are now the …

Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: Back in 2013, the Texas megachurch run by televangelist Kenneth Copeland, a member of President Trump’s faith advisory council who recently became the proud owner of a Jesus-provided private plane, was at the center of a measles outbreak that was attributed to the church’s belief that congregants can forego vaccines because Jesus will …

Boing Boing reports: If you want a good example that shows how Facebook cares more about pleasing its shareholders than the it does about stopping fake news, look how this fake news story, which claims a CDC doctor says the flu vaccine is causing the flu outbreak, is spreading across Facebook (current number of shares: 691k). Remember, Facebook has complete …

The Associated Press reports: A particularly deadly flu virus has reportedly become widespread in 46 states across the country, according to the recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “This is a feature of this year’s flu — not only did it start early, but it seemed to occur all over the country more or less …

The trending Tea Party hashtag today is #CPACPlague as many attendees report coming down with a bad flu after this weekend’s convention. At Twitchy, the most popular comment is this: “It was first time most of them were in same room as liberal media reporters covering the event. Immune system needs to build up liberal media anti-virus.”  Flu outbreaks at …

The New York Post reports: Hell’s Kitchen is burning up — with the flu. The neighborhood is the city’s most infected area — closely followed by the Upper West Side, Carroll Gardens and Elmhurst, Queens, according to a formula created by two upstate professors. The complex, Twitter-based algorithm maps out areas of New York City that are hardest-hit with virus …

As hundreds of flu patients flood into the city’s emergency rooms, today Boston Mayor Tom Menino declared a public health emergency. The nation’s severe flu season continued to worsen Wednesday, with reports of hospitals overflowing with sick patients and at least one major U.S. city declaring an influenza emergency and urging citizens to get vaccinated before the peak is reached. …