The flu is hitting children especially hard this year: more than 100 child deaths have been blamed on the virus this season, according to the CDC. While there have been no flu-related child deaths in Vermont this season, the virus is still having and outsized effect on the young: 86% of flu cases have been reported in people under the age of 24, and so far 35 schools have seen flu outbreaks.
UVM Medical Center infectious disease specialist and Larner College of Medicine professor Dr. Tim Lahey joins Vermont Edition to discuss the flu in Vermont this year, how it's affected ERs and urgent care centers in the state, the estimated 45% effectiveness of this year's flu vaccine, and how the flu-like symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus are testing Vermont's screening and emergency protocols.
Broadcast live on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
