Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Warns Of Bad Flu Season As Cases Already Tick Up
NBC News: Flu Off To An Early Start As CDC Warns About Potentially Severe Season
"We've noted that flu activity is starting to increase across much of the country," especially in the Southeast and south-central U.S., the CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, told NBC News. (Edwards, 10/13)
CBS8.com: More Than 1,000 Students Absent, Suspected Respiratory Outbreak Under Investigation At 2 San Diego County Schools
San Diego County Public Health Services is investigating a large, suspected outbreak of respiratory and flu-like symptoms reported among students at Patrick Henry High School and Del Norte High School. School officials said the symptoms were mostly fever, cough and headache. (Handy, 10/13)
The New York Times: 4 Ways To Boost Your Immune System Ahead Of Cold And Flu Season
According to Dr. Helen Chu, an epidemiologist and infectious-disease physician at the University of Washington School of Public Health, it’s a myth that simply being cold will make you more likely to get sick. But viruses do tend to transmit most efficiently in drier, colder conditions, leading to spikes in winter months. So now is the time to get serious about immune health. Here are four things health experts say you can do to prepare ahead of fall and winter surges. (Seo, 10/14)
In updates on RSV —
Bloomberg: New Vaccine Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus Is 83% Effective In Older Adults
The experimental shot against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, protected volunteers against a disease that causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations each year in a key trial. GSK said it plans to submit it for approval in the second half. (Fourcade, 10/13)
