Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
There's Hope That Worst Of This Nasty Flu Season Might Actually Be Over
Stat: This Year's Awful Flu Season May Have Just Hit A Plateau
It’s too soon to say the flu season has peaked, but it’s at least possible it may have plateaued. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released Friday, show the percentage of people going to a doctor for an influenza-like illness (most of which is likely flu during peak flu season) was 7.5 percent, just under the rate of 7.7 percent for the week ending Feb. 3. It marks the first week-by-week decline since the flu season began. (Branswell, 2/16)
The Washington Post: Children's Deaths From Flu Rise Sharply Amid Signs That Season May Be Hitting Plateau
The CDC's latest weekly report shows that the percentage of doctor visits for fever, cough and other flu symptoms was the same during the week of Feb. 4-10 as the week before — about 1 in every 13 visits. The figures are based on updated data showing the percentage of Americans seeking medical care for such symptoms to be just slightly lower than peak levels during the 2009-10 swine flu pandemic. The week ending last Saturday was the first one in which that indicator — a key early flag of flu activity — did not increase. Data on hospitalization rates and deaths usually lag behind. (Sun, 2/16)
CNN: Flu Now Blamed For 84 Child Deaths, CDC Says
The deaths of 22 more children from flu-related causes were reported Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its weekly surveillance report. Those deaths bring the total number of children reported to have died to 84 since October, when the current flu season began. Three out of four children who died from the flu had not gotten a flu vaccine, the acting director of the CDC said in a Thursday news conference. (Scutti, 2/16)
Stat: Can The Popular Vaccine FluMist Make A Comeback In The U.S.?
This week could be pivotal for the fate of the popular influenza vaccine known as FluMist and its manufacturer MedImmune, a division of AstraZeneca. On Wednesday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will hear a pitch the company hopes will persuade it to restore its recommendation for use of FluMist, the only non-injectable flu vaccine licensed in the United States. (Branswell, 2/20)
The Washington Post: Here's Why The Flu Makes You Feel So Bad
Every year, 5 to 20 percent of the people in the United States will become infected with influenza virus. An average of 200,000 of these people will require hospitalization, and up to 50,000 will die. Folks over the age of 65 are especially susceptible to influenza infection because the immune system becomes weaker with age. In addition, older folks are also more susceptible to long-term disability following influenza infection, especially if they are hospitalized. We all know the symptoms of influenza infection include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, headaches and fatigue. But just what causes all the havoc? What is going on in your body as you fight the flu? (Haynes, 2/17)
NPR: Flu Still Contagious After Symptoms Abate
It's shaping up to be one of the worst flu seasons in years.If you are one of the thousands of unlucky Americans who are sick with the flu, this one's for you. You've spent the last couple of days cooped up in your house watching bad TV, fighting the fever sweats and expelling a baffling amount of mucus. As you start to resemble a human being again, you might feel pressure to head back to work. (Sofia and Rizzo, 2/20)
The Wall Street Journal: What’s The Best Way To Make Sure You Get Sleep When You Have The Flu?
Being sick with the flu, or even just a cold, impairs one of the body’s most reliable aids in recovery: sleep. Finding the right position and tools for comfort can seem impossible when battling a pounding head, stuffy nose and body aches. One expert, Aric Prather, a psychoneuroimmunologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, explains why the flu makes us lazy and how to get a restorative night’s sleep while fighting off seasonal illness. (Mitchell, 2/17)
And in the states —
Arizona Republic: Arizona Man Gets $2,169 Bill For Tamiflu And Hospital Visit
Steve Farquhar thought he had sought care at an urgent-care clinic near his Ahwatukee home last month to get medicine for his flu. When he got the bill, he learned it was a hospital. He was billed $2,169 by the hospital and doctor after the Jan. 9 visit of less than 90 minutes and a prescription for the antiviral flu drug Tamiflu. (Alltucker, 2/16)
Orlando Sentinel: Flu Slows Down In Central Florida But Far From Over
The flu activity could be slowing down in Orlando — at least for the past week — according to local urgent care providers and family physicians. ... Small declines have also been reported around the state, but overall, flu activity remains higher than most previous seasons in Florida and nationwide. (Miller, 2/16)
Georgia Health News: Flu Deaths Here Up To 79; Hospitalizations Reach New High In Metro Area
Georgia public health officials have now confirmed a total of 79 influenza-related deaths this flu season, including three children, as of Friday. That total easily surpasses the 58 deaths the state reported in 2009, the first year that all flu deaths were required to be reported to Georgia Public Health. (Miller, 2/17)
