by Loki » Sun 05 Jan 2014, 18:45:03
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('WildRose', '
')Thanks for responding, Loki. It seems to be a bad season here as well, rather suddenly over the last few weeks. It's all over our news lately with the health minister urging everyone to be vaccinated.
Do your health officials make pleas for everyone to be vaccinated?
I haven't really heard much about it this year, especially compared to 2009. I don't have a TV and rarely read the local paper, I get most of my mainstream and local news from public radio and they've said very little. I did hear that the flu strain this year is H1N1 on the radio, though, which motivated me to get a flu shot. Cost $30. Is it free in Canada?
The pharmacist told me it takes 2 weeks for the flu shot to be effective, I REALLY hope I don't get it in the mean time. Like I said, I was severely ill when had swine flu in 2009, very miserable. I think I took 2 weeks off work, which did not go over well with my asshole boss at the time (I've since gotten another job).
I just did a quick search of Google news for “flu,” it looks like there's been a big increase in cases across the country in the last week or two, including Oregon.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')ost all of the flu cases in Oregon are indeed H1N1 this year, the most common strain seen nationwide. H1N1 is a mix of swine, bird, and typical human flu.
The big difference between the H1N1 of today and the H1N1 that caused the pandemic in 2009 is that this year's vaccine can protect against it.
Cases have risen dramatically in the past few weeks in the Portland-Metro area. During the last week of December, there were 81 hospitalizations from the flu in Oregon alone. The number of cases from just two weeks prior was only 18.
Additionally, a child has died of complications from the flu at Doernbecher Children's Hospital.
A hospital spokesperson could only say it had a child death and couldn't share more information.
Last week, a state health report listed "zero" child deaths, so this would be the first child flu death of the year.
Younger adults, ages 25-49, are among the people getting hit hardest.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Flu-now- ... 39801.html $this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he flu has been spreading all over the country and state officials now consider flu activity widespread in Oregon. Dr. Mo Daya works at OHSU. He said he expected to see more cases of the flu.
So far, at least two people have died of the flu in Oregon and 81 people have been hospitalized.
“It can become bad, very quickly,” Daya said. “In the time I’ve worked in the last two weeks, every shift has had at least one or two positive cases. At least one or two each sift have been admitted to the ICU.”