Flu Vaccine Forecast: If There Is A Cure, It May Still Be 'A Decade Away'

While flu rates are finally easing up, researchers look for ways to improve the shot that this year was only 36 percent effective. "The one thing about flu that you can count on, is that it will be unpredictable," said Dr. Nicole Marie Iovine of the University of Florida. Meanwhile, the flu season continues and record high deaths occur in Delaware.

This year’s particularly nasty flu season has doctors and researchers worried about what’s ahead. Though the number of outbreaks in Florida has declined in recent days, the first six weeks of 2018 saw soaring numbers of flu patients in emergency rooms, urgent care clinics and doctors’ offices — and at rates that far exceeded the last three years. (Griffin, 3/13)

After one of the worst flu seasons in nearly a decade, flu rates are starting to ease up across the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weekly flu report. Hospital visits for patients with flu-like symptoms continued to drop across the country after peaking in early February. (Clark, 3/12)

The recent confirmation of two flu-related deaths has brought Delaware’s season total to 30, breaking the previous single-season record. The Division of Public Health said in a release Monday that two women, aged 83 and 84, died in the last two weeks of February. Both women had multiple underlying health conditions. (3/12)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.

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