Seasonal Flu

The US is settling into a new approach to respiratory virus season

Fri, 2024-03-22 10:05 — mike kraft

After four years with Covid-19, the US is settling into a new approach to respiratory virus season | CNN With the arrival of spring, the United States is easing out of respiratory virus season, a familiar pattern that has been challenged by Covid-19 for the past four years. Deidre McPhillips CNN

...

Experts say that focused planning and forecasting efforts helped avoid some of the worst-case scenarios. But there was still a significant number of severe outcomes, and there are still key areas of improvement – especially around vaccination.

...

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about The US is settling into a new approach to respiratory virus season
Log in or register to post comments

U.S. expanding airport nasal swabbing to Chicago and Miami

Wed, 2024-03-13 12:19 — mike kraft

U.S. airport nasal swabbing expanding to Chicago and Miami The nation's top public health agency is expanding a program that tests international travelers for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program asks arriving international passengers to volunteer to have their noses swabbed and answer questions about their travel. The program operates at six airports and on Tuesday, the CDC said it was adding two more — Chicago’s O’Hare and Miami. Yahoo News

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about U.S. expanding airport nasal swabbing to Chicago and Miami
Log in or register to post comments

Covid-19 pandemic killed off one strain of the flu, and that will change the next vaccines

Tue, 2024-03-05 10:53 — mike kraft

The Covid-19 pandemic killed off one strain of the flu, and that will change the next vaccines | CNN For 10 years, Americans have had access to flu shots that protect against four strains of the virus: two A strains and two B strains. Brenda Goodman CNN

...

In 2020, all the precautions that helped people avoid Covid had an unexpected benefit: An entire branch of the flu’s family tree, a B strain that geneticists call the Yamagata clade, disappeared, and it hasn’t been detected since.

...

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Analysis

Read more about Covid-19 pandemic killed off one strain of the flu, and that will change the next vaccines
Log in or register to post comments

Flu shot effectivenness is OK -- US numbers indicate

Mon, 2024-03-04 17:29 — mike kraft

Flu shots are doing OK vs. virus, US numbers indicate Early estimates suggest flu shots are performing OK in the current U.S. winter flu season. The vaccines were around 40% effective in preventing adults from getting sick enough from the flu that they had to go to a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital. AP News

...

Officials generally are pleased if a flu vaccine is 40% to 60% effective.

The shots tend to do better when they are well matched against the circulating flu strains. Officials say that’s what’s happened during this — relatively typical — flu season.

...

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: