HHS HealthBeat (March 23, 2009)

Still Time for Trouble

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat

Just because the flu season got off to a late start doesn’t mean people are safe. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tony Fiore says the season picked up its pace in February.  So there’s still time for trouble.

[Tony Fiore speaks] "Because of the late start to the flu season in the United States, we could continue to see influenza activity for some time. In some seasons, influenza activity has continued into May."

The CDC says people who not yet gotten vaccinated should get vaccinated.

Fiore says this season’s vaccine is an excellent match for all of the circulating influenza A viruses. And the A strains are the most common this year. He says the vaccine is not a good match for three quarters of the B viruses circulating, but influenza B is less common this year.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: March, 24 2009