flu shot

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Biden Leads With His Arm in Encouraging Vaccinations

Doctor says president encourages everyone to catch up on shots

(Newser) - President Biden caught up on vaccinations before urging everyone else to do the same. The White House announced Saturday that the president received a COVID booster vaccination and a flu shot on Friday, USA Today reports. Biden recently was vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the presidential...

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...

44 States Report High Flu Activity
44 States Report
High Flu Activity

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...

2 Young Kids, Parents Given COVID-19 Vaccine by Mistake
2 Young Kids, Parents Given
COVID-19 Vaccine by Mistake
in case you missed it

2 Young Kids, Parents Given COVID-19 Vaccine by Mistake

4-year-old said to be experiencing high blood pressure, rapid heart rate

(Newser) - A family of four from Indiana, including two young kids, says they went to their local Walgreens to get the flu shot but instead received the COVID-19 vaccine. The Evansville family—two adults and two children ages 4 and 5—say they left the Walgreens thinking they'd received the...

This Year's Flu Numbers Are Kind of Stunning
This Year's Flu Numbers
Are Kind of Stunning
in case you missed it

This Year's Flu Numbers Are Kind of Stunning

Almost nobody is getting it amid the pandemic

(Newser) - It may be hard to fathom, but the pandemic seems to have an upside, too: The flu is pretty much nonexistent this year. Popular Science delivers the remarkable stat: In 2019, the US recorded 65,000 cases from late September to late December. In 2020, that figure dropped to 1,...

13 South Koreans Die After Getting Flu Shots

Authorities say they haven't found a direct link between vaccination and deaths

(Newser) - South Korean authorities are scrambling to maintain public trust in vaccines after the unexplained deaths of 13 people who received flu shots. Authorities say they are conducting a full investigation and they do not believe the vaccines were the cause of the deaths, reports the BBC . Officials say the fatalities...

Here's How to Get Through a COVID Winter

Get your flu shot, keep expectations realistic, and keep up social distancing and mask wearing

(Newser) - Health experts are hoping this winter "won't be horrible," but as social distancing fatigue sets in, colder weather forces more people indoors, and families gather for the holidays, they're also concerned that things could get bad if Americans don't remain vigilant. To help mitigate what...

CDC Director Might Be Regretting That Interview
CDC Director Might Be
Regretting That Interview
the rundown

CDC Director Might Be Regretting That Interview

Robert Redfield is walking back his comments on second wave of coronavirus

(Newser) - On Tuesday, the Washington Post published an interview with Dr. Robert Redfield in which the CDC director seemed to indicate an inevitable second wave of coronavirus infections was likely to be worse than this initial wave. By Wednesday, Redfield was walking back those remarks. President Trump tweeted Wednesday that Redfield...

They Were Meant to Get Flu Shots. Instead, a 'Medical Misadventure'

8 residents, 2 workers at Oklahoma care center apparently received insulin instead of flu vaccine

(Newser) - Investigators believe an unintentional mix-up led to 10 people being hospitalized in Oklahoma after receiving what was supposed to be their flu vaccines. The AP reports that eight residents and two workers at Jacquelyn House, a care center for people with intellectual disabilities, were sickened this week after the shots...

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....

This Year's Flu Vaccine Has Been Pretty Ineffective

CDC finds vaccine only 36% effective

(Newser) - The flu vaccine is doing a poor job protecting older Americans and others against the bug that's causing most illnesses, the AP reports. Preliminary figures released Thursday suggest the vaccine is 36% effective overall in preventing flu illness severe enough to send a patient to the doctor's office....

'We Probably Haven't Peaked Yet': Death Toll Mounts From Flu
Kids, Young Moms
Succumbing During
Deadly Flu Season
THE RUNDOWN

Kids, Young Moms Succumbing During Deadly Flu Season

'We probably haven't peaked yet,' one doctor warns

(Newser) - Sobering stats out of the CDC Friday show that 37 kids have perished from the respiratory illness as of last Saturday—and the flu season is on track to be one of the worst in 15 years, the Washington Post reports. Nearly 12,000 people have required hospitalization so far,...

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 ...

Flu on the Rise in Most States Now
Flu Season Near Its Peak

Flu Season Near Its Peak

CDC says it's not too late to get a shot

(Newser) - The flu is marching across the US, with 40 states now reporting widespread activity. In addition, the CDC says 15 pediatric deaths have been reported across the US, seven of them in the past week, reports CNN . Hardest hit are New Jersey, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New York, and South...

Report: Flu Vaccine Nasal Spray Is Highly Ineffective

Bad news, kids

(Newser) - Bad news for needle-hating kids and their accommodating parents: the popular flu vaccine nasal spray FluMist is “ineffective and should not be used in the upcoming flu season," the New York Times reports. That's according to an advisory committee's recommendation to the CDC on Wednesday. FluMist...

Woman Got Flu Shot Instead of Birth Control Shot, Sues

Yesenia Pacheco is suing for undisclosed sum

(Newser) - A Seattle woman has filed a controversial "wrongful life" lawsuit over a federally funded health clinic's alleged negligence. Yesenia Pacheco was receiving a birth control injection, Depo-Provera, every three months, but became pregnant in September 2011 when NeighborCare Health employees erroneously gave her a flu shot instead, reports...

Study: Here's How Often You'll Get the Flu

Researchers say kids tend to get the flu every 2 years, adults every 5

(Newser) - Historically, it's been challenging to pinpoint how often people get the flu, in part because most of us can't self diagnose it, thinking we have it when we don't or not knowing we have it when we do. Now researchers say they've found the answer—that...

Flu Shot Just 23% Effective
 Flu Shot Just 23% Effective 

Flu Shot Just 23% Effective

That's one of the worst marks in last decade

(Newser) - As predicted, this year's flu vaccine is doing a pretty crummy job. It's only 23% effective, primarily because it doesn't include the bug that's making most people sick, according to a government study out today. That's one of the worst performances in the last decade,...

Pregnant Nurse Fired After Refusing Flu Shot

Dreonna Breton had suffered miscarriages, was wary of vaccine's effect

(Newser) - Dreonna Breton has an 18-month-old son and another child on the way. But the 29-year-old Pennsylvania woman has also suffered three miscarriages. And so when her employers at Horizons Healthcare Services in Lancaster informed its entire staff that a flu shot was necessary, Breton refused. Though she acknowledged that the...

Women May Get More Out of Flu Shots

Research suggests they may have stronger immune systems in general

(Newser) - Women react more strongly to flu vaccination than men, a new study has demonstrated, meaning they might be more protected against getting sick. Researchers examined the inflammatory responses of 53 women and 34 men after they got their flu shots, and found that men, particularly men with high testosterone, exhibited...

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