Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Effectiveness Of Flu Vaccine Looks Like It Will Be Even Lower Than CDC Experts Expected
Stat: Flu Vaccine Provided Low Protection Against This Winter's Virus, Data Suggest
As the country battles an especially fierce flu season, experts have struggled to explain why one family of virus — the influenza A virus H3N2 — that has infected a lot of people in recent years is causing so much damage again this winter. Now, new data from north of the border sheds some light on the question. Canadian influenza researchers reported Thursday in the online journal Eurosurveillance that the first reckoning of how well the flu vaccine is protecting against H3N2 viruses this year in North America has a dismal answer: not very. (Branswell, 2/1)
And in the states —
The Hill: New York Governor: Flu Season Worsens Each Week
New York's historic flu season is continuing to worsen every week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Thursday. Cuomo said the state confirmed more than 11,600 cases of influenza reported to the health department over the past week, with more than 2,200 people hospitalized. (Weixel, 2/1)
Kansas City Star: Flu Now Worse In Kansas Than Missouri According To Kinsa
Kinsa, one of several companies that make thermometers that connect to smartphones, has produced data on flu-like symptoms for the last two years that has been similar to the information from the Centers for Disease Control, but with less lag time. The company reported this week that Kansas had surpassed Missouri to take the nation’s top spot in percentage of people showing flu-like symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat and chills. (Marso, 2/1)
Arizona Republic: Arizona Health Officials: Flu Numbers Rival Pandemic Of 2009-10
The number of confirmed flu cases in Arizona this season rivals the total seen during the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009-10, with 19,279 cases of influenza reported this season as of last Saturday, state officials said. The number of reported cases is a sharp increase from the 2,175 total cases confirmed in the state last season. (Fish, 2/1)
