winter flu season

10 Stories

Updated COVID Shots Part of Plan to Avoid 'Tripledemic'

Approval of updated vaccines expected within days, just in time for flu and RSV season

(Newser) - Updated COVID-19 vaccines are coming soon, just in time to pair them with flu shots. Doctors hope enough people get vaccinated to help avert another "tripledemic" like last year, when hospitals were overwhelmed with an early flu season, an onslaught of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and yet another winter...

COVID, Flu, Strep Cases Get Classes Canceled 9 Days After School Begins
School Barely Begins, Gets
Canceled Due to Mass Illness
in case you missed it
Aug 27, 2023 10:45 AM CDT

School Barely Begins, Gets Canceled Due to Mass Illness

Kentucky district says nearly a fifth of the student body got sick

(Newser) - The first day of school for Kentucky's Lee County School District was August 9, but by Friday, attendance had already dropped to 82%. By Monday, it was 81%, and 14 teachers had called out sick—so classes were canceled Tuesday and Wednesday, with remote learning planned for Thursday and...

44 States Report High Flu Activity
44 States Report
High Flu Activity
Dec 3, 2022 5:30 AM CST

44 States Report High Flu Activity

Winter flu season usually doesn't get going until December or January, but this one started early

(Newser) - The US flu season keeps getting worse. Health officials said Friday that 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flu-like illnesses. That's as high as the peak of the 2017-18 flu season and higher than any season since, the AP reports. The annual winter flu...

We Haven't Seen a Flu Season This Intense Since 2009

CDC says we're seeing hospitalization case levels we usually don't see till December

(Newser) - The CDC's weekly influenza report is out, and it's got concerning news on an atypically early flu season, with a "dramatic" surge in hospitalizations for flu over the past few weeks that have reached levels the US normally doesn't see until December. The health agency reports...

Last Flu Season Was Deadliest in Decades. This Might Be One Reason Why

Just 37.1% of adults got flu shot

(Newser) - Last winter's flu season was the deadliest since the 1970s—79,000 people died—and a report released by the CDC Thursday might explain why. Per the report, just 37.1% of adults were vaccinated last season—the lowest rate since the 2010-11 season, and a drop of 6....

For the First Time in 2 Decades, a New Flu Drug Hits US

US health regulators approve Xofluza

(Newser) - US health regulators have approved the first new type of flu drug in two decades. Wednesday's approval of Xofluza for people ages 12 and older comes ahead of the brunt of this winter's flu season. Xofluza is a pill that can reduce severity and shorten duration of flu...

ER Nurse Eyerolls Her Way Through Flu Rant in Video

Some say her message is 'condescending,' but she says she just wants to keep folks healthy and safe

(Newser) - It's been a tough flu season so far, which is bringing out some tough love from health care professionals. In Florida, that comes in the form of Katherine Lockler, an ER nurse in Escambia County who put out a "polarizing," finger-wagging video about flu season that has...

Flu Season Kicks Off Early— and It May Be a Nasty One

Australia's bad bout with the flu could be a sign of what's to come in US

(Newser) - If you haven't gone for a flu shot yet, you may want to hurry—the season of sickness is already upon us. The CDC's weekly flu tracker notes a wider geographic spread of the illness across the US compared with this time of year in years past. Popular ...

America's Sickest Cities

Hint: Florida's not the place to be during flu season

(Newser) - Think spring is around the corner and the end to sneezing and sick ickyness is in sight? Think again, because there's lots of flu left to pass around. The Daily Beast runs down the 20 sickest cities, as broken down by health ranking, vaccination coverage, influenza deaths, and how much...

Thank You, Swine Flu: Seasonal Version No Big Deal

History, and this past spring, show novel strains 'crowd out' normal ones

(Newser) - A perfect storm of factors related to the swine flu pandemic have many experts predicting the usual seasonal flu viruses will be no-shows this season. First off, the rush for H1N1 vaccinations saw many patients being vaccinated for the seasonal varieties as well. And then there’s “crowding out,...

10 Stories