Weekly
Healthy Advice From VÄXA
It is Flu Season
If you have the flu, you're
not alone.
Not only is every state in the country reporting flu activity,
but the flu strains that are showing up in hospitals throughout
the nation were not covered by this year's influenza vaccine,
according to Dr. Joe Bresee, chief of the branch of epidemiology
and prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's Influenza Division.
The Centers for Disease Control reported last week that this
year's flu vaccine doesn't match two of the three strains
of influenza circulating in the United States.
Complicating matters, some of this year's influenza type A
virus is showing resistance to the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
Overall, 8.1 percent of the influenza type A viruses tested
by the CDC are resistant to Tamiflu.
Even though this year's vaccine isn't a good match for most
of the circulating flu virus, the CDC continues to recommend
that people get inoculated.
An estimated 5 percent to 20 percent of the U.S. population
suffers from the flu each year. More than 200,000 people are
hospitalized from flu complications, and about 36,000 people
die from the disease. Some people, such as older individuals,
young children, and people with certain health conditions
(such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease), are at high risk
for serious flu complications, according to the CDC.
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