CDC reports flu season past peak

ATLANTA - The worst of the U.S. flu season appears to be over. <br> <br> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that the virus peaked in late February, and case reports have dropped steadily since then. <br> <br> At the peak, more than 25 percent of possible flu specimens sent to a nationwide network of doctors and labs tested positive for the virus. That number has since fallen to about 20 percent. <br> <br> The flu peaked much earlier in the previous two seasons -- posing a problem because the early peaks were compounded by shortages of flu vaccine and delays in its delivery. <br> <br> This year&#39;s flu season was milder. Health officials say the vaccine cooked up to fight the flu this year was well-matched against the strains of virus that circulated most commonly. <br> <br> Flu kills as many as 20,000 Americans each year.

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