Only 13.9 percent of individuals with positive test reported specific symptoms on the day of the test
Innovative Science Leads Toward a Universal Flu Shot
Each year, influenza vaccines are redesigned to account for virus mutations that reduce the protections people gain from the annual flu shot.
To address these virus mutations, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Ragon Institute of MIT, Mass General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard University announced they are working on strategies for designing a universal flu vaccine that could work against any flu strain.
Pregnant Women Significantly Increase Flu and Tdap Vaccinations
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published new findings that indicate about 40 percent of pregnant women do not receive influenza and Tdap vaccines, leaving themselves and their infants more vulnerable to influenza and pertussis infection.
The CDC researchers noted in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published on October 2, 2020, that during the 2019-20 flu season, 61.2 percent of surveyed pregnant women received the flu vaccine, which was 7.5 percentage points higher than the previous flu season.
Flu and Pneumococcal Vaccination Urged Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
New data released by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) showed that only 59 percent of US adults intend to get vaccinated against influenza during the 2020-2021 flu season.
According to statements published on October 1, 2020, this percent is concerning to public health officials, who are bracing for the potential impact from a dual outbreak of flu and COVID-19 this winter.