Cold, Flu, & Cough Health Center

News and Features Related to Cold & Flu

181. U.S. Swine Flu Vaccinations Start Oct. 6
     

     Sept. 25, 2009 - Vaccinations against H1N1 swine flu will start on Oct. 6, CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, said today. Nearly all of the first 6 million doses of swine flu vaccine are the FluMist nasal spray vaccine. By mid-October, the government plans to deliver some 45 million doses -- incl

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182. Half of Americans Want Swine Flu Shots
     

     Sept. 23, 2009 - Half of American adults say they'll get the new H1N1 swine flu vaccine, a RAND survey shows. The Internet-based survey of a nationally representative panel of 2,067 U.S. adults took place in early June. At that time, 49.6% of those surveyed said they were likely to get the H1N1 swin

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183. Flu Shot Beats Flu Spray for Young Adults
     

     Sept. 23, 2009 -- The traditional flu shot beats out the newer flu nasal spray in young adults aged 18 to 49, according to a new study. ''Those who got the inactivated vaccine [the traditional flu shot] were half as likely to get the flu as those who got the live attenuated vaccine [the flu nasal sp

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184. Hand Hygiene Habits Improve
     

     Sept. 22, 2009 -- Americans get a B- for their hand hygiene in a new survey about hand washing. That grade is up from a C- in 2008. The new, improved grade is based on a survey of 888 U.S. adults. The survey, which was conducted by phone in August for the Soap and Detergent Association, gets into th

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185. Kids Need 2 Swine Flu Shots
     

     Sept. 21, 2009 - Kids under age 10 will need two doses of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine, given three weeks apart. The finding -- early results from clinical trials of the Sanofi Pasteur version of the swine flu vaccine -- is no surprise. The CDC bases its swine flu vaccination plan on the need for two

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186. First Doses of Swine Flu Vaccine Coming Soon
     

     Sept. 18, 2009 - The first 3.4 million doses of swine flu vaccine -- all the nasal spray vaccine -- will ship in early October, the CDC said today. In addition, some flu shots may be ready to ship by then, too, Jay Butler, MD, chief of the CDC's H1N1 Vaccine Task Force, said at a news conference. "V

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187. 2 Easiest Ways to Catch Swine Flu
     

     Sept. 18, 2009 -- What's the single most efficient way to catch H1N1 swine flu? OK, that's a no-brainer. Having a sick person cough directly into your face cannot be a good thing. That gives you more than a 50% chance of getting sick, calculate environmental health experts Mark Nicas, PhD, of the Un

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188. Best Swine Flu Face Mask: N95 Respirator
     

     Editor's note: In November 2009, the researchers retracted the findings of this study.   Sept. 16, 2009 (San Francisco) -- If you're going to buy a face mask to protect yourself against H1N1 swine flu, you might want to invest in an N95 respirator mask. So suggests a new study showing that ordinary

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189. Swine Flu: How Long Are You Infectious?
     

     Sept. 15, 2009 (San Francisco) -- Some swine flu patients are still infected with H1N1 virus that they can transmit to other people eight to 10 days after their symptoms strike, researchers say. The finding suggests that the CDC’s recommendation for people with flu-like illness to avoid others until

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190. Nasal Spray May Kill Cold Virus
     

     Sept. 15, 2009 (San Francisco) -- Oxymetazoline, a compound found in many over-the-counter nasal decongestant sprays, may help kill the virus that causes the common cold, researchers report. In a new study, viral levels dropped more quickly than expected in volunteers treated with oxymetazoline nasa

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