Thursday, January 24, 2013
Department of Health says there were an additional 15 deaths last week, but that number of people hospitalized with flu-like symptoms has fallen dramatically.
Influenza killed 15 more Minnesotans last week, bringing the total number of state deaths in the current outbreak to 75—more than the total number of state residents killed during the last big outbreak during 2009-10. But the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) weekly flu update, released Thursday afternoon, also contained good news: Only 208 people across the state were newly hospitalized last week with laboratory-confirmed influenza, a big drop from the 476 hospitalized the previous week. Health Department spokesman Doug Schultz told WCCO that it will be another week before officials know for sure where the flu season has peaked in Minnesota. But he added that trends are pointing in that direction. For example, there were only nine …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Here's information on the influenza vaccine and where to get it in Oakdale.
It's no secret that influenza reports have been nearly off the charts this season. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu season peaks in January or February. Physicians recommend getting the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available up until about May. The CDC lists two different flu vaccines: If you're considering getting a flu shot, here are some places in Oakdale that offer the vaccine: For more information about influenza click here.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Here's where to get an influenza vaccine, how to recognize symptoms and what to know about treatment if you get sick.
Flu season is coming early in parts of the United States, including Minnesota, and some of the cases have involved severe illnesses. This time last year, flu cases were lower in Minnesota than they are now, according to data on Google's Flu Trends. (Oakdale-specific data is not available on Flu Trends, but flu cases in the Twin Cities metro are in line with the state as a whole.) Overall in Minnesota, activity is categorized as "high," while it was categorized as "low" at this time in 2011, according to Flu Trends. And not only is the flu season starting earlier than usual, some of the illnesses in Minnesota are severe. The Minnesota Department of Public Health reports that for this 2012-2013 season, 30 people have been hospitalized with …
