flu

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu hospitalizations are the highest since the CDC started tracking those numbers, and we may only be halfway through the season.

The agency scrapped plans to tell Americans what to do in a nuclear attack. Instead, it will focus on the flu. The decision came before Saturday's false alert of a ballistic missile attack.

In California, the flu has struck early and hard this season. Health experts aren't sure why. The state's higher temperatures typically result in a later flu peak there than in other parts of the U.S.

Flu-associated deaths in North Carolina have now reached 20 since the season began. 

Health officials fear the U.S. may have a nasty flu season because the main flu virus circulating this year tends to hit people hard and the flu vaccine may be weaker than normal.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reminds us that shots — not a nasal spray — are the most effective way to protect kids 6 months and older against the flu.

A pandemic is likely to crop up in the next few decades, many scientists predict. To help readers prepare, NPR created its first-ever Pandemic Preparedness Kit. But it's not your traditional kit.

We take proactive measures to stop the spread of the flu — so, NPR's Michel Martin asks, why can't we combat gun violence the same way?

A CDC advisory panel concluded the nasal spray vaccine is so ineffective that it shouldn't be used by anyone during the 2016-2017 flu season. Until 2015, the spray was the top choice for kids.