The coronavirus that has sickened hundreds in Wuhan, China, has worried health officials and other humans across the globe. Should people in the US worry?
When a certain percentage of a population has been vaccinated, it prevents an infectious disease from spreading. But that threshold depends on the disease.
The headlines paint a picture of a frightening flu season. While this season set in earlier than usual, it’s not necessarily more severe than previous years.
Ian Barr, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
Headlines about this year’s flu season have been alarming. It’s true, we are having a serious season – but the data doesn’t indicate it’s the worst one we’ve ever had.
The flu vaccine is built on the strains expected to circulate in a given year. While the majority of strains circulating this year are matched in the vaccine, there’s one strain we didn’t predict.
The flu vaccine takes about two weeks to start working and only protects against influenza, so you can still get sick from other viruses after your flu shot.
Children’s immune systems are more vulnerable to the flu; even kids who are otherwise healthy can develop complications. The best way to protect children is by having them vaccinated.
The 2018-2019 flu season was less deadly than the last. But the pattern of infection was unusual, thanks to the various strains circulating and the way flu shots work over time.
Colin Simpson, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
All too often, researchers around the world act in competition when trying to answer research questions in an emergency situation, such as outbreaks of the flu. The UK is trialling a new approach.
Sheena G. Sullivan, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza and Rob Moss, The University of Melbourne
The 2018 flu season was mild, while 2017 was a particularly bad year. It’s impossible to predict what the 2019 flu season has in store, but we’ve seen more cases so far this year than usual.