influenza

Trump administration yanks CDC flu vaccine campaign

6:39pm February 19, 2025

As flu rages, the Trump administration has pulled the plug on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flu immunization campaign that targeted high-risk groups, including pregnant women.

WS/FCS urges sick students to stay home due to high number of flu cases

5:00am February 04, 2025

by Amy Diaz

District officials say students should only return to school if their symptoms have improved for 24 hours, and they’re fever-free without the use of medication.

COVID-19 vaccines are prepared at a clinic in Lynwood, Calif. on Friday. Oct. 28, 2022. MARK J. TERRILL/AP

Health & Safety

Triad area hospitals institute visitor restrictions amid wave of respiratory illness

2:51pm January 13, 2025

by Santiago Ochoa

Hospitals are trying to slow the spread of respiratory viruses during peak cold and flu season.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ordering dairy producers to test cows that produce milk for infections from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) before the animals are transported to a different state following the discovery of the virus in samples of pasteurized milk taken by the Food and Drug Administration.

The U.S. may be missing human cases of bird flu, scientists say

11:59am May 02, 2024

by Will Stone

Officially, only one person has caught the illness during the current outbreak. But with limited testing, cases could be flying under the radar.

Bird flu is spreading through U.S. dairy cattle. Scientists say the risk to people is minimal, but open questions remain, including how widespread the outbreak is and how the virus is spreading.

As bird flu spreads in cows, here are 4 big questions scientists are trying to answer

7:14pm April 26, 2024

by Will Stone

Health officials say there's very little risk to humans from the bird flu outbreak among dairy cattle, but there's still much they don't know. Here are four questions scientists are trying to answer.

A street painting in Mumbai, India, reinforces the importance of masks amid a surge of COVID. The photo was taken on January 11.

Coronavirus FAQ: Are we in a surge? How do you cope if your whole family catches it?

7:41am January 13, 2024

by Max Barnhart

Are we in a surge? How would we know? Is winter now "COVID season?" And what do you do if your whole family got the coronavirus over the holidays? We tackle readers' coronavirus questions.

COVID cases are rising but hospitalizations and deaths are lower than last year's respiratory virus season.

Health & Safety

Flu and COVID are on the rise, but there are fewer severe COVID cases than last year

7:19pm January 05, 2024

by Pien Huang

Flu is rising, and COVID levels are higher than last season's peak. But COVID hospitalizations and deaths are down. Nonetheless, COVID is still the most dangerous virus circulating.

Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations are now available across the U.S., including at this CVS pharmacy in Palatine, Illinois.

Health & Safety

A seasonal viral stew is brewing with flu, RSV, COVID and more

2:38pm October 21, 2023

by Pien Huang

National data shows COVID-19 levels are moderate. In most of the U.S., levels of other respiratory viruses are low, although RSV is ticking up in some southeastern states.

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Health & Safety

A new flu is spilling over from cows to people in the U.S. How worried should we be?

2:05pm March 29, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Pigs and goats likely catch it too. It's been found in humans' noses in the Southwest — and in the air at airports and at chicken farms in Malaysia.

Queue Listen Now

It can be hard to find children's fever-reducing medication in some areas. At a Bed Bath & Beyond in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, a few products were in stock while others were sold out.

Thanks to the 'tripledemic,' it can be hard to find kids' fever-reducing medicines

5:00am December 03, 2022

by Laurel Wamsley

Makers of products like Children's Tylenol say they're trying to keep up with big demand as RSV, flu, and COVID spread. But medical experts note that kids' fevers don't always call for medicine.