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.
There are three types of flu vaccine available in Australia.
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Ian Barr, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza
Protection wanes after four or five months, so for most people, it makes sense to get a flu shot in mid to late May or early June so you’re protected when the flu season peaks in August or September.
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We commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1, but victims of a more deadly threat are rarely remembered. Let’s change that.
Californians in June 2015 protest a bill that did away with personal belief exemptions for vaccinating children before they enter school.
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Vaccination rates for children in some parts of California are down, despite a law that narrowed exemptions. Here’s a look at why people refuse to listen to evidence when it comes to the flu vaccine.
The flu virus changes over time – which is why you need a different flu shot each year.
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Important research questions can almost always be answered better with a combination of methods – where both quantitive and qualitative data play a role.
Both make you sneeze and give you a runny nose.
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The flu shot is most effective if you receive it by the end of October. With 80,000 deaths from flu during last year’s flu season, a doctor explains why you should act now.
An Atlanta hospital set up a mobile ER to deal with the large number of flu cases.
AP Photo/David Goldman
Many people think green snot means you are really sick, or that you need antibiotics. Not true. Green snot is actually a sign that our immune system is working and that we are getting better.
There is no live virus in a flu vaccine. So you can’t catch the flu.
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With many men ‘missing’ from the population in the aftermath of the 1918 flu, women stepped into public roles that hadn’t previously been open to them.
Face masks are a common sight in Asia. Why?
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Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year’s vaccine won’t work on the next year’s common strains. But rational design – a new way to create vaccines – might pave the way for more lasting solutions.
Once a respiratory virus like influenza has entered your home or workplace, it is wise to treat the space like a hospital and practice infection prevention and control.
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