Cold and Flu News
Moderna’s mRNA Flu Vaccine Could Be Ready for Next Flu Season
- Australia’s Flu Season Doesn’t Bode Well For U.S.
June 15, 2023 — A recent spike in flu activity in Australia, which is in the midst of its flu season, has U.S. health officials on alert. That’s because flu activity Down Under can help predict how severe the U.S. flu season will be.
- Flu Season Ends Not With a Bang but a Whimper
March 10, 2023 — The 2022-23 flu season lingered through the second half of January and most of February at the edge of its defined existence, but it now appears to be over.
- This Season’s Flu Shot Cut Hospitalization Risk in Half
February 23, 2023 — The flu vaccine has been highly effective this year, the CDC says, despite flu season getting off to one of the earliest and strongest starts on record.
- Nearly 40% of U.S. Households Affected by 'Tripledemic'
February 7, 2023 — In about 40% of U.S. households during the holiday season, at least one person got sick with one of the trifecta of respiratory illnesses referred to as the tripledemic, a new survey shows.
- The Future of At-Home Testing: Flu, RSV Rapid Tests Are Coming
February 2, 2023 — The FDA says it is confident that at-home rapid tests like those for COVID-19 are forthcoming for flu and RSV.
- Flu, RSV on Decline, but COVID Deaths Persist
January 30, 2023 — Respiratory illness levels in the U.S. have declined so much in recent weeks that they are approaching numbers usually seen during non-flu season.
- 'Tripledemic' Cases Decline in U.S. Hospitals
January 23, 2023 — A 'tripledemic' surge of COVID, flu, and RSV cases peaked before the New Year and is now in decline, according to data released by the CDC.
- Why Doesn't the U.S. Have at-Home Tests for the Flu?
January 11, 2023 — Americans are now accustomed to buying at-home COVID-19 test kits, swabbing, waiting, and interpreting the results themselves. But what about at-home tests for the flu?
- Flu Cases Fall, But Not Admissions and Deaths
January 9, 2023 — The proportion of visits for respiratory illness drops for the fifth consecutive week since peaking in late November.
- Flu Activity Falls for the Fourth Straight Week
January 3, 2023 — December brought a drop in infections, but outpatient visits and hospitalizations for influenza remain higher than expected.
- Traveling by Public Transportation? CDC Says Wear a Mask
December 20, 2022 — With a “tripledemic” of flu, RSV and COVID-19 out there, and holiday travel approaching pre-pandemic levels, government and medical officials have a familiar piece of advice for anyone taking public transportation this season: Wear a mask.
- Scientists Use mRNA Technology for Universal Flu Vaccine
December 19, 2022 — Scientists are using mRNA technology to pioneer a universal flu vaccine, the latest advance in a new age of vaccinology.
- Flu Hospitalizations Drop Amid Signs of an Early Peak
December 16, 2022 — The weekly hospitalization rate tumbled from 8 per 100,000 people to 4.5 per 100,000, which was still higher than any other December rate from all previous seasons going back to 2009-10, CDC data shows.
- U.S. Sees Most Flu Hospitalizations in a Decade
December 9, 2022 — The cumulative hospitalization rate for the 2022-23 season is 16.6 per 100,000 people, the highest seen at this time of year since 2010-11, the CDC said.
- Why Do We Get More Colds in Winter? Blame Your Nose
December 6, 2022 — A new study finally offers evidence of why we are more likely to get viral infections in the winter.
- This Year's Flu Shot 'Good Match' to Circulating Strains: CDC
December 6, 2022 — This year’s version of the influenza vaccine appears to be effective against the widely circulating strains of the virus, the CDC said on Monday.
- Flu Season Raged Over Thanksgiving
December 2, 2022 — The CDC reports that hospitalizations for confirmed flu cases nearly doubled during Thanksgiving week.
- U.S. Flu Activity Already at Mid-Season Levels
November 29, 2022 — Outpatient visit and hospitalization rates are the highest in over a decade.
- Is It a Surge? Flu Season Gains Strength Before Holidays
November 21, 2022 — The emergence of another virus, the coronavirus, has changed the definition of influenza-like illness.
- RSV and Flu Return With a Vengeance, and Keep an Eye on COVID
November 15, 2022 — Infectious disease experts share why they think more than 2 years of COVID-19 helped create a treacherous environment for unusual RSV and flu outbreaks.
- Get Hives and Wheeze When It’s Cold? It May Be Cold Urticaria
November 14, 2022 — With cold urticaria, patients develop red, raised, itchy bumps — hives — after exposure to cold, and may have trouble breathing.
- CDC Lists 16 Places in U.S. Where Flu is Rampant
November 11, 2022 — Flu continues to spread steadily, with case counts continuing their pattern of doubling weekly. The CDC now lists 16 states or major metropolitan areas as having the highest possible label for outpatient respiratory illness visit levels. The prior week, only four of these areas were listed as very high.
- Seinfeld's Jason Alexander Wants Everyone to Get Their Shot
November 2, 2022 — Not getting a flu shot once almost cost Jason Alexander a Tony Award. Now, he's urging everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
- Early Counts of Flu Already Breaking Records
October 29, 2022 — The spread of flu, also called influenza, is growing faster across the United States than it has in more than a decade, causing alarm among health care providers.
- Is It Flu, RSV or COVID? Experts Fear the ‘Tripledemic’
October 25, 2022 — Will cases of RSV, COVID-19, and influenza rise together? Public health officials urge precautions, while noting that the flu and RSV viruses are simply playing catchup after lockdowns and social distancing.
- High Levels of Flu Reported in Southeast, CDC Says
October 17, 2022 — While the number of flu cases is rising across the United States, high levels of flu are being reported in Southeastern states, according to the CDC’s first weekly influenza surveillance report of the 2022-23 flu season.
- Flu Season Is Starting Early and May Be Severe, Experts Warn
October 14, 2022 — As outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory conditions pop up across the United States, health experts say that the nation may be facing an early and severe flu season.
- Death of Son Reinforces Flu Vaccination Message
October 4, 2022 — Jeb Teichman, a retired pediatrician, lost his son to flu in 2019. On Tuesday, he joined other health officials to urge all Americans to get vaccinated and avoid his son's fate.
- How to Avoid Viruses That Move in a Crowd
September 29, 2022 — Scientists studying the movements of large numbers of people attending live events have teamed up with an epidemiologist to track viral transmission and how to prevent it.