Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Not Too Late: You Should Still Get The Flu Shot, Health Officials Urge
New Orleans Times-Picayune: 'In Strongest Possible Terms', Coroner Pushes Flu Shot
For the second time this month, St. Tammany Parish Coroner Dr. Charles Preston on Monday (Jan. 29) sounded the flu alarm with a statement imploring North Shore residents to get inoculated against the virus if they have not yet done so. "In the strongest possible terms, I encourage everyone over six months of age to have a flu shot," Preston said. Federal health officials said Friday that the number of patients seeking care for flu-like symptoms continues to rise sharply at a time when many experts hoped that new cases would begin to taper off. (Chatelain, 1/29)
The Hill: Tough Flu Season Could Kill Tens Of Thousands
Millions of Americans are suffering from the influenza virus in what public health experts say is an unusually active and dangerous flu season, the result of several distinct strains of a disease that are likely to kill tens of thousands in the United States. Influenza activity is widespread in 49 states — all but Hawaii — and flu rates are at high levels in 40 states and in Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 6.6 percent of all hospital and doctor visits so far this year are for flu-like illnesses. (Wilson, 1/30)
Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Flu Hospitalizations Drop But Rest Of Season Could Still Be Deadly And Dangerous
While recent data shows that flu-related hospitalizations have fallen across the state and in Franklin County, health officials warned Monday that the virus is still widespread and dangerous. As of Jan. 20, about halfway through this 33-week flu season, there have been 7,353 influenza-related hospitalizations in Ohio, including 567 in Franklin County, according to the most recent Ohio Department of Health report. (Viviano, 1/29)
