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N.H. Flu Season Update

It is a bad flu season this year, we look at why, the history of the flu and its vaccine, and where you should get vaccinated. 
 

 
To listen to the show, click on this link. This discussion begins approximately 40 minutes into the recording.
 
 
GUEST:
 

  • Dr. Pamela Hofley - Medical Director, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Manchester-Bedford and a pediatric gastroenterologist. 

 

Related Reading

An article from the Concord Monitor on the rise of the flu in N.H.

  • “Flu vaccines are free for people under age 18 in New Hampshire and are covered by most health insurance plans for adults.”
  • “Flu is widespread in all states as of the first week of January, and its severity, going by a measure called ILI, for influenza-like illness, is much worse in most of the country than in northern New England, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

N.H. Flu Deaths

"Why the Flu is so Bad in 2018:"

  •  “The CDC estimates that the vaccine will be effective against roughly 30% of H3 viruses this year. That said, the CDC still recommends that you get vaccinated if you haven’t already, as there could be as many as 13 weeks of flu season still to come”
  • …a first in its 13 years of flu monitoring: As of Jan. 6, every part of the continental U.S. showed ‘widespread’ flu activity”
  • “In rare cases, a flu-weakened immune system becomes susceptible to serious bacterial infections, such as pneumonia, which can in turn lead to complications that can turn fatal”

"Yes, Lots of People Are Getting Flu Symptoms. No, This Season Isn’t So Unusual. Here’s Why."

“The 1918 flu, 100 years later”

 

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