Thursday, December 17, 2009

Swine flu numbers ease off:Levels still surpass peak of a regular flu season, and officials predict new surge then

Swine flu cases have declined in the Charlotte area after reaching a peak about two weeks ago. But health officials expect another wave when the additional threat of seasonal flu takes hold in winter.
"We're pleased that we seem to be on the back end of a wave of illness," said Dr. Roger Ray, chief medical officer for Carolinas HealthCare System.
"But we don't want to give any sense that the risk is over. ... The typical flu season, January and February, is coming, and that could be rough."
Health officials continue to encourage people to get vaccinated against both H1N1 and the seasonal flu. Limited supplies of swine flu vaccine mean doses are being reserved for people at high risk for becoming seriously ill with the flu.
"We want people to continue getting vaccinated, assuming we have vaccine," said Dr. Stephen Keener, medical director of the Mecklenburg County Health Department...

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