Articles labeled: flu

Wow, the flu seems to be hitting hard this year, claiming twice the number of children in Massachusetts than usual, and the season isn’t even over yet. Is it too late to get a flu shot? Is there a doctor in the house? Scary stuff.

A 12-year-old Worcester County girl died Sunday from influenza, the fourth Massachusetts child to succumb this year to the respiratory illness, state public health authorities announced this afternoon.

Officials also disclosed that a 15-year-old boy from Newton died Friday of pneumonia triggered by the flu. Neither of the children was identified because of patient confidentiality laws.

Most years, no more than two children die from the flu in Massachusetts. This flu season, though, has proved especially severe, with significantly more cases of the viral disease reported among adults and children than the previous two winters. Disease specialists estimate that during a typical winter, 36,000 people — mainly the elderly and patients with chronic illnesses — die nationally from the flu.

We’re already extremely paranoid about the flu, a seemingly innocuous virus that most think will just mean a couple days home from work or school, but that actually kills about 20,000 people a year especially the elderly and young children. The first tragic case at the beginning of this year’s flu season comes from Minnesota, where a Twin Cities 12-year-old has died from influenza.

Police responded to a call around 2:30 in the morning last Monday at the 4200 block of South Fifth Avenue.

When they arrived the 12 year-old girl was already dead.

Neighbors say the girl had been sick for a couple of days.

This as doctors say the flu season has just started in Minnesota.

Counties are also working on a mobilization effort to get more flu shots out to kids.

Doctors at West Health in Plymouth say spring may be around the corner, but the flu season is far from over.

It’s that time of the year again.

I’m so down with the FluMist. Needles are so pointy.

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ — MedImmune, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the expanded use of FluMist(R) (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal) in children two to five years of age. FluMist is now approved for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by influenza A and B viruses in individuals two to 49 years of age. Only one manufacturer had previously been licensed in the United States to produce influenza vaccine for children under four years of age.