Flu season is underway

Health officials say the flu season is off to its earliest start in nearly 10 years – and it could be a bad one.  Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say this year’s flu season is the earliest since 2003-04 and that was considered a severe flu year.  Doctors also say the primary strain circulating now is one that tends to cause more severe illness, especially in the elderly, and they’re urging people to get vaccinated now. This not only will help keep people from getting the flu, but it will help prevent the spread of the virus from normally healthy people to others who might be more susceptible to it.  The CDC said more than a third of Americans have been vaccinated, and the vaccine is well matched to the strains of flu so far. Last year, just under 50 percent of adults and children got a flu vaccine, according to the CDC.  (MRN)