Flu Vaccine Effectiveness

[wtbcrna, MSN, DNP, CRNA]

[h=1]"Flu season waning; younger adults hit hardest"[/h]"Among infectious diseases, flu is considered one of the nation's leading killers. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each fluseason, according to the CDC. The agency doesn't keep an exact count of flu deaths. But health officials estimates that 60 percent offlu deaths this season have been in people ages 25 to 64, similar to the numbers from 2009-2010.

The government also released data on this year's flu vaccine. A fluvaccine that's 60 to 70 percent effective in the U.S. is considered pretty good and this year's falls in that range.

Overall, it was a moderate 61 percent. That means those who got a shot have a 61 percent lower chance of winding up at the doctor with the flu. Last year, it was 56 percent effective."

http://news.msn.com/us/flu-season-waning-younger-adults-hit-hardest

[NurseQT]

I lost my oldest brother to H1N1 three weeks ago, he was only 43 years old. His story was in just about every newspaper across WI. His doctor at Froedtert hospital said the 30-50 age group is really getting hit the hardest by the flu this year...