IF YOU THOUGHT THIS WINTER'S FLU SEASON WAS BAD - Well, It Was

(04/18/2008)

Every time you turned around in Sunny Cal, someone was saying how sick they got with flu symptoms, rapid onset and lingering effects. This year's current flu season has shaped up to be the worst in four years, according to the CDC. Part of the reason, this year's flu vaccine didn't work. This season's vaccine was the worst match since 1997-1998, when the vaccine didn't work at all against the circulating virus, says the CDC. The 2007-2008 season started slowly and peaked in mid-February. There are some cases still being reported. It has caused the highest number of deaths since 2003-04. Health officials make an essentially an educated guess - formulate a vaccine against three viruses they think will be circulating. They guess well most of the time, between 70 and 90 percent effective. But this year, the vaccine was only 44 percent effective. The flu results in 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths, according to official estimates. The elderly, young children and people with chronic illnesses are considered at greatest risk.

Hur Herald ®from Sunny Cal The information on these pages, to the extent the law allows, remains the exclusive property of Bob Weaver and Dianne Weaver The Hur Herald. All information may be freely used but must not be sold or used in any type of commercial endeavor, or used on any web site without the express permission of the owners ©Bob and Dianne Weaver, The Hur Herald, 1999, 2000, 2001