Some 1,300 people across the United States have died of the flu so far this year, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates.
In a report released Friday, federal health officials said there have been at least 2.6 million flu illnesses this year and 23,000 hospitalizations.
Flu activity has been reported across the country, but some states – namely Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington – have reported “high” flu activity levels. Puerto Rico has seen high flu activity as well.
Most of the illnesses this year have been caused by the influenza B/ Victoria viruses, which the CDC said is “unusual for this time of year.” This strain is most commonly reported among children 4 years of age or younger, according to the report.
“It’s not too late to get vaccinated,” said health officials. “Flu vaccination is always the best way to prevent [the] flu and its potentially serious complications.”
(AP)
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7 Responses
For those of you that want to get the flu make sure you take the flu shot and you might be lucky to get the actual flu.
My family didnt take the flu shot and bh none of us got the flu even if my childrens classmates were all out sick from the flu!
So the question that begs to be asked…. is the strain in the vaccine the same Unusual strain identified as circulating right now? If not, why waste your time getting yet another useless flu vaccine. Since manufacturers aren’t godly, they have yet to predict the circulating virus with any amount of accuracy.
If the strain you catch isn’t the strain in the vaccine, you will still have a much milder case and much less chance of nasty complications like pneumonia. It’s worth getting the vaccine, period. Why end up in the hospital if you don’t have to?
The report does not say that there is something “unusual” about the virus. The report is saying that during a flu season there are many different strains of virus that spread, but the expected first wave is normally type A while currently the first wave is type B. The vaccine (at last here in Canada) is designed to handle 4 different strains in one vaccine.
Not TOO Late To Get
Midwest2-
How do u know? That doesnt sound scientifically logical. Please provide some study to back that up.
What percentage of those who died were vaccinated? How does this compare to a similar group who were not vaccinated? That sort of information is never officially released. Anti-Vaxx groups release numbers but is difficult to know how reliable they are. As things stand now, it is nearly impossible to know what is really going on. However, by reading between the lines on various official statement on the flu vaccine, it seems that it is a failure. Last year the CDC claimed a 38% success rate and they are always including disclaimers that the actual virus may not be the one someone catches. (So don’t blame us if you get sick or die.) Statistics are never placed within a context. What does a 38% success rate mean? 38% of what? What is the status of the other 62%?
From my limited research into vaccines, it seems that many, maybe most, work and are safe. However there are a few that have very mixed results. Then there are those, like the flu vaccine, that seem to be failures.
So why is the flu vaccine still being given to people?
I suspect that it is a combination of money and politics. Someone has invested a great deal of money in the equipment and people necessary to produce the vaccine. Also, since the vaccine topic is such a contentious political issue, admitting that such a well know and politically promoted vaccine does not work could be interpreted as admitting that none of them work. The economic and political damage would be great for those involved.