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Flu Basics

How risky is the flu? How good is the vaccine? Will the vaccine prevent me from getting sick?

Getting Flu Shot
Toby Talbot -- AP
New group helps US monitor swine flu shot safety
WASHINGTON -- Independent health advisers begin monitoring safety of the swine flu vaccine on Monday, an extra step the government promised in this year's unprecedented program to watch for possible side effects.
 

Influenza

Q. What is the flu?
A. A viral respiratory infection. Symptoms include headaches, dry cough, muscle aches and fatigue, and possible congestion, sore throat and fever.
Q. How do you treat the flu?
A. Rest, drink plenty of fluids and avoid alcohol and tobacco. Since the flu is a virus, antibiotics can't cure it.
Q. Who should get a flu vaccine?
A. People older than 65, children 6 to 23 months old, pregnant women and adults or children with chronic health conditions are at greater risk for severe illness.

Flu Shots and the Elderly

What was an elderly person's chance of having a flu-like illness in a flu season?

  Placebo group Vaccine group
Nursing Home
Study 1 (Russia) 13% 5%
Study 2 (U.S.) 15% 6%
Community
Study 3 (Netherlands) 4% 2%
Study 4 (Britain) 9% 5%
Study 5 (U.S.) 4% 2%
SOURCES: Lancet Online Cochrane Review 2005 and original journal articles

Focus on Bird Flu

Official Resources

Discussions

Doctors' offices caught between the ill and the ill-tempered: Satisfactory answers are in as short supply as the flu vaccine itself, workers find (Post, November 1, 2009; 9:53 PM)
 
Gitmo detainees set to receive swine flu vaccine (AP, November 1, 2009; 3:49 PM)
 
Millions without sick leave fear swine flu (AP, November 1, 2009; 2:08 PM)
 
Castro: more US visitors mean more Cuban swine flu (AP, October 31, 2009; 10:08 AM)
 
Single H1N1 inoculation may be sufficient: WHO panel urges one dose so more children can receive vaccine (Post, October 31, 2009)
 
Side effects not always due to swine flu shot (AP, October 30, 2009; 8:01 PM)
 
CDC: Swine flu kids' deaths jump to 114 (AP, October 30, 2009; 4:08 PM)
 
Obama frustrated with companies over flu vaccine (Reuters, October 30, 2009; 4:03 PM)
 
WHO experts: Single dose swine flu vaccine enough (AP, October 30, 2009; 10:36 AM)
 
Some who get vaccine not in high-risk groups (AP, October 30, 2009; 10:18 AM)
 
Sanofi lifts forecast on swine flu vaccine (Reuters, October 30, 2009; 6:33 AM)
 
H1N1, other illnesses jack up school absences: MANY CAMPUSES REMAIN OPEN
'There's a lot of scrambling' (Post, October 30, 2009)
 
CDC: Up to 6 million swine flu cases in few months (AP, October 29, 2009; 10:42 PM)
 
Dutch scientists: Kids should skip flu vaccine (AP, October 29, 2009; 8:02 PM)
 
Obama girls' vaccine: Favoritism or good example? (AP, October 29, 2009; 7:11 PM)
 
Study: Cholesterol drugs may improve flu survival (AP, October 29, 2009; 5:11 PM)
 
Tracking how flu evolves _ it has sticky tricks (AP, October 29, 2009; 2:00 PM)
 
Mecca-bound pilgrims prompt swine flu precautions (AP, October 29, 2009; 2:00 PM)
 
Tamiflu shortages have parents on wild dose chase: Liquid form of drug used to treat youngest victims of swine flu is in short supply (Post, October 29, 2009)
 
Caps' Laing has swine flu: Left wing is at home, but apart from wife and two sons (Post, October 29, 2009)
 
Youngest students at the head of the line for flu vaccine: Strategy targets those most at risk of H1N1 (Post, October 29, 2009)
 
Children learn their part in swine flu prevention (AP, October 28, 2009; 11:06 PM)
 
Islanders' Weight back after bout with swine flu (AP, October 28, 2009; 8:34 PM)
 
Swine flu prompts hundreds of schools to close (AP, October 28, 2009; 7:09 PM)
 
More on the Flu

How Big a Killer Is the Flu?

  Flu Heart disease All causes
Number of U.S. deaths
in a typical year		 36,000 703,000 2,443,000
Number who could have died 288,357,0000
(total U.S. population)
Annual risk 0.01%
(1 out of 10,000)		 0.24%
(24 out of 10,000)		 0.85%
(85 out of 10,000)
SOURCES: 2002 Federal death certificate data; estimate of flu deaths comes from Thompson et. al JAMA 2003, 289:179-186. | GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - October 25, 2005
© 2005 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive