flu – News Stories About flu - Page 1

Updated COVID Shots Are Around the Corner

Updated COVID Shots Part
of Plan to Avoid 'Tripledemic'

Sep 9, 2023 6:00 AM CDT

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...

When It Comes to
Bird Flu, 'It's a New War'

Feb 16, 2023 9:40 AM CST

When It Comes to Bird Flu, 'It's a New War'

Virus emerges in record amounts, and in new places, meaning it may be here to stay

(Newser) - Will bird flu lead to the next pandemic? That's the question making the headline rounds of late, and the short answer is—it's possible, though the threat isn't currently high. What is the concern of the moment is that wild birds have spread avian influenza, which is...

How Doctors Treat Their Own Winter Illnesses

Under the Weather?
Do as Doctors Do

Jan 1, 2023 10:01 AM CST

Under the Weather? Do as Doctors Do

Advice from those in the know

(Newser) - If you've been hit with a winter illness, do as the experts do—an approach made easier by the Wall Street Journal and HuffPost , which spoke with asked ear, nose, and throat specialists; pediatricians; and family doctors about what they turn to when they get sick. Among their advice:...

Feds Release Flu Medicine From National Stockpile

As Flu Rages, Feds
Open Gates to Meds
From National Stockpile

Dec 22, 2022 4:14 AM CST

As Flu Rages, Feds Open Gates to Meds From National Stockpile

Flu season has hit hard and early this year

(Newser) - The Biden administration is releasing doses of prescription flu medicine from the Strategic National Stockpile to states as flu-sickened patients continue to flock to hospitals and doctors' offices around the country. This year's flu season has hit hard and early. As cases have spiked, some people are even noticing...

Drug Chains Restrict
Purchase of Children's Meds

Dec 20, 2022 10:30 AM CST

Drug Chains Restrict Purchase of Children's Meds

Demand as respiratory illnesses thrive forces CVS, Walgreens to limit amount customers can buy

(Newser) - Parents on the hunt for medication for their sick kids may not be able to immediately find what they need on drugstore shelves, thanks to a spike in various respiratory illnesses and, therefore, higher demand for those meds. CNN reports that the CVS and Walgreens chains have placed limits on...

Blame Your
Nose for That
Winter Cold

new study

Dec 6, 2022 10:45 AM CST

Blame Your Nose for That Winter Cold

Researchers discover colder temps reduce our nose's germ-fighting abilities

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom says that you're more likely to get a cold or flu in the winter. Now science backs that up. CNN reports on a "breakthrough" study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that sheds light on the connection between colder temperatures and increased viral...

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

Oct 28, 2022 2:03 PM CDT

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...

After a Yearlong Pause,
Flu Is Making a Comeback

Dec 28, 2021 9:45 AM CST

After a Yearlong Pause, Flu Is Making a Comeback

Flu season is here, and hospitalizations are on the rise

(Newser) - The US flu season has arrived on schedule after taking a year off, with flu hospitalizations rising and two child deaths reported. Last year's flu season was the lowest on record, likely because COVID-19 measures—school closures, distancing, masks, and canceled travel—prevented the spread of influenza, or because...

With This Year's Flu Vaccine,
a 'Major Mismatch'

NEW STUDY

Dec 17, 2021 8:35 AM CST

With This Year's Flu Vaccine, a 'Major Mismatch'

Scientists say vax isn't helping much to prevent infection, but can still fend off serious illness, death

(Newser) - Health experts, including those at the CDC , are urging the public to not only get vaccinated against COVID, but also against the flu. New research suggests, however, that one of the main strains of the influenza virus that's now going around has mutated, and that this year's flu...

CDC Investigates 'Unusual'
Flu Outbreak at University

Nov 16, 2021 4:06 PM CST

CDC Investigates 'Unusual' Flu Outbreak at University

University of Michigan surge in cases could be a sign of things to come for the rest of country

(Newser) - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts have been sent to the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus to learn more about a surge in flu cases—and what it might mean for the rest of the country as flu season approaches. Some 528 cases have been diagnosed at...

COVID's Death Toll
Catches 1918 Flu's

Sep 20, 2021 7:15 PM CDT

COVID's Death Toll Catches 1918 Flu's

One model shows another 100,000 people will be killed by January

(Newser) - COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did—approximately 675,000. The US population a century ago was one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by...

Summer Colds Are Back
With a Vengeance

Jul 23, 2021 10:45 AM CDT

Summer Colds Are Back With a Vengeance

Relaxing lockdown boundaries is giving our immune systems a workout

(Newser) - Freaking out over a case of the sniffles is a totally normal thing to do right now. People who have been scrupulously observing lockdowns and mask mandates for more than a year are starting to relax, and relax their boundaries. The masks come off at the bar, everyone’s shouting...

This Year's Flu Numbers
Are Kind of Stunning

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,...

California Patient Has
Flu, COVID Co-Infection

Oct 30, 2020 3:00 AM CDT

California Patient Has Flu, COVID Co-Infection

It's the first such co-infection reported in Solano County

(Newser) - Experts have been warning of a "twindemic" during the fall and winter months, with both coronavirus and seasonal influenza potentially running rampant in the US—and states have begun reporting patients who do indeed have both viruses simultaneously . The latest co-infection to be reported is out of Solano County,...

Computer Model Forecasts
a 'Very Deadly December'

Sep 12, 2020 7:30 AM CDT

Computer Model Forecasts a 'Very Deadly December'

Along with COVID-19, doctors are also worried about a 'twindemic' of the virus and flu

(Newser) - Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned Thursday that Americans should prepare to "hunker down" for the fall and winter to keep COVID-19 at bay, and a new computer model is lending weight to that warning. CNN reports that the University of Washington's influential Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation forecast...

For 101-Year-Old
Virus Patient, a 'Truly
Extraordinary' Recovery

Mar 30, 2020 8:21 AM CDT

For 101-Year-Old Virus Patient, a 'Truly Extraordinary' Recovery

'Mr. P' was born in 1919, during the Spanish flu pandemic

(Newser) - The New York Post is calling him a "living marvel," while Forbes deems his case "miraculous." At the very least, a 101-year-old Italian man is making headlines after being released from the hospital after recovering from the coronavirus. CNN reports that "Mr. P" was admitted...

Her Mom
Thought She
Had a Cold.
Then She
Lost Her Sight

Mar 9, 2020 8:58 AM CDT

Her Mom Thought She Had a Cold. Then She Lost Her Sight

Jade DeLucia can now see again after a frightening bout with the flu

(Newser) - It's been a traumatic couple of months for the family of Jade DeLucia, but the news has been getting better. Per KCRG , the Iowa 4-year-old started feeling sick in the days before Christmas, but mom Amanda Phillips thought she just had a cold. Then, on Christmas Eve, Jade was...

Flu Kills Graduate Student
Who Tried to Call 911

Feb 20, 2020 6:30 PM CST

Flu Kills Graduate Student Who Tried to Call 911

Health officials assure community that Yming Shen didn't die of the coronavirus

(Newser) - After a garbled call to 911, the system was able to trace the caller to an apartment complex but not to a specific apartment. Police and firefighters searched the area for 45 minutes Monday, the Times-Union reports, but couldn't find the caller in the Troy, New York, apartments. Yeming...

Second Wave of Flu
Is Hitting the US

Feb 14, 2020 1:20 PM CST

Second Wave of Flu Is Hitting the US

It's one of the worst years in a while for kids

(Newser) - A second wave of flu is hitting the US, turning this into one of the nastiest seasons for children in a decade, per the AP . The number of child deaths and the hospitalization rate for youngsters are the highest seen at this point in any season since the severe flu...