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An unusual viral strain is dominating flu activity across the United States and may be one reason for the severe infections in children so far, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and this season’s influenza vaccine is not a close match for the virus. There are different types of flu viruses, and the strain causing illnesses in most parts of the country is an influenza B virus. (Sun, 1/10)

Flu activity in the United States went down last week, but that doesn't mean the season has peaked and the worst is behind us, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. "Don't make any conclusions about a single dip," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "We've seen dips that go down and then go back up again, and we've seen dips that go down and continue to go down." (Cohen, 1/10)

A 4-year-old girl in Iowa nearly died and is now blind because of the flu, and her parents have a message: Get your child vaccinated. "If I can stop one child from getting sick, that's what I want to do," said Amanda Phillips. "It's terrible to see your child suffer like this." (Cohen and Bonifield, 1/11)

While there are ways to try to avoid it, inevitably there will be sick kids and adults at school. The health of the school population in general can be greatly affected by the actions of parents and administrators.The 2019-20 flu season started off aggressively with the number of cases steadily rising. Health officials have reported that flu activity is expected to increase even more after the holiday break. (Smith Broady, 1/10)

While flu cases in Oregon and nationally appeared to fall last week, that doesn’t mean the flu season is subsiding, federal officials said Friday. It’s simply too early to tell if a dip in flu symptom-inspired ER visits means the flu season is on its way out the door. “It could go up again,” said Delia Hernández, spokeswoman for Oregon’s statewide health agency. About the only thing that’s certain at this point – and you’ve heard this before: People should get vaccinated. (Zarkhin, 1/12)