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Flu hits New York hard this year
Jan 10, 2013 1:34 pm
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Google Flu Trends Jan. 10, 2013 for Albany, NY. Dark line is 2013, other lines are recent years.[/caption]The flu is almost everywhere this winter, by all accounts, and getting worse by the day. The Center for Disease Control says, as of Dec. 29, that this season's flu is "widespread" in New York and 40 other states. Visits for influenza-like illness were 5.6 percent of all doctor visits, above the usual national baseline of 2.2 percent. Google Flu Trends, which analyzes web searches for flu symptoms without the delay of the CDC, says New York, and the Albany area in particular, are experiencing "intense" flu activity. Locally, the Cairo-Durham Central School District sent home a letter to parents Wed., Jan. 9 warning of multiple flu reports there, and asking parents to keep sick children home. The Register-Star reports that the Columbia County Department of Health still has $35 flu shots, and holds a clinic at its 325 Columbia St., Hudson, offices every Tuesday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The department also holds a clinic on every third Wednesday of the month (next Wed., Jan. 16) from 4 to 6 p.m. by appointment. Columbia County residents should call 828-3358.
Google Flu Trends Jan. 10, 2013 for Albany, NY. Dark line is 2013, other lines are recent years.[/caption]The flu is almost everywhere this winter, by all accounts, and getting worse by the day. The Center for Disease Control says, as of Dec. 29, that this season's flu is "widespread" in New York and 40 other states. Visits for influenza-like illness were 5.6 percent of all doctor visits, above the usual national baseline of 2.2 percent. Google Flu Trends, which analyzes web searches for flu symptoms without the delay of the CDC, says New York, and the Albany area in particular, are experiencing "intense" flu activity. Locally, the Cairo-Durham Central School District sent home a letter to parents Wed., Jan. 9 warning of multiple flu reports there, and asking parents to keep sick children home. The Register-Star reports that the Columbia County Department of Health still has $35 flu shots, and holds a clinic at its 325 Columbia St., Hudson, offices every Tuesday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The department also holds a clinic on every third Wednesday of the month (next Wed., Jan. 16) from 4 to 6 p.m. by appointment. Columbia County residents should call 828-3358.