Feb 16, 2018

Why you should get a flu shot

Woman getting this year's flu shot at Walgreens. Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

It’s true that this year’s flu vaccine isn’t quite as helpful as it could have been — it’s about 36% effective overall, according to new estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it’s as high as 59% effective for children younger than 9, health officials said yesterday.

Why it matters: This is an especially deadly flu season, and it’s not over.

The flu has killed at least 63 kids in the U.S. since the start of this flu season, and this number is expected to rise. About three-quarters of those kids weren’t vaccinated, the CDC says.
"Getting the flu shot is the same kind of sensible protection as buckling up your seat belt,” HHS secretary Alex Azar said at a briefing yesterday.

Go deeper: Why this flu season is so bad.

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Axios

Updated 43 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. ET: 5,850,258 — Total deaths: 361,249 — Total recoveries — 2,444,898 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:30 a.m. ET: 1,724,873 — Total deaths: 101,698 — Total recoveries: 399,991 — Total tested: 15,646,041 — Map.
Public health: Hydroxychloroquine prescription fills exploded in March —How the U.S. might distribute a vaccine.
Business: Many poor and minority families can't afford food or rent.
2020: Trump courts Asian American vote amid coronavirus.
⚽️ Sports: European soccer's push to return.

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Driving the news: Trump escalated his war on Twitter Friday morning, tweeting repeatedly that the company needs to be regulated after it overnight added a warning label to a tweet of his calling for the military to start shooting looters, which violated Twitter’s rules against glorifying violence.

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In photos: Protests over George Floyd's death grip Minneapolis

The Third Police Precinct burns in Minneapolis on Thursday night. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Demonstrators demanding justice burned a Minneapolis police station and took control of the streets around it last night, heaving wood onto the flames, kicking down poles with surveillance cameras and torching surrounding stores.

What's happening: The crowd was protesting the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose life was snuffed out Tuesday by a white Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on his neck for about eight minutes.

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