ATLANTA - Flu cases are rising fast, and health officials expect even more before the bug peaks for the season. But plenty of vaccine is still available, and this year's batch appears to fight flu particularly well. <br>
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today that about 14 percent of specimens sent to a nationwide network of flu-testing labs were positive for influenza in mid-January, up from just four percent in early December. <br>
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That figure usually rises to at least 25 percent before flu season peaks, usually in February or March. <br>
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The good news: About ten million doses of flu vaccine are still available in the United States. The CDC is urging health care providers to continue offering them even through February, especially to the elderly and chronically ill. <br>
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The CDC said the 2001-02 flu vaccine fights well against the predominant strain of the bug circulating this season. Doctors examine data from around the world before cooking up vaccine, but the process is still something of a guessing game. <br>
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Flu kills as many as 20,000 Americans each year. The CDC judges the severity of a flu season based on reports from doctors and labs across the country and records from 122 U.S. cities.
