Cold and Flu

Carlos Maisonet reacts as Eva Berrios-Colon injects him with flu vaccine at Brooklyn Hospital in New York. Many hospitals seemed to scramble this flu season to accommodate unexpected crowds, but in this region shots for health-care staff have become the norm.

Mandatory flu immunizations for hospital workers catching on

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Four-year-old Gabriella Diaz sits as registered nurse Charlene Luxcin, right, administers a flu shot at the Whittier Street Health Center in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Boston declared a public health emergency Wednesday as the city tried to deal with a harsh flu season and the state reported 18 flu-related deaths so far. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Flu dropping in Pennsylvania, state reports

Flu is declining in Pennsylvania, the state Department of Health reported Tuesday. Flu patterns are difficult to predict, and the state is still recommending vaccination against the virus. It is still considered widespread around the state.

Too Few Adults Get Recommended Vaccines: CDC

They not only protect the recipient, but also offer 'herd immunity,' experts say

Got the Flu? Rest First, Exercise Later, Experts Say

Sick athletes should put off vigorous workouts

10 flu myths busted

With the cold and flu season taking off faster than we’ve seen in a while, here’s a list of the top 10 common flu myths and the real truth behind them.

The whooping-cough vaccine isn’t 100 percent effective, and immunity wanes with time, one health expert says. (Jae C. Hong / AP)

Not too late: Where to get (mostly free) flu shots

It is not too late to get a flu shot.

Registered nurse Michelle Newbury, left, and physician assistant Scott Fillman meet with patients, not pictured, in a tent set up for a people with flu symptoms, just outside the emergency entrance at the Lehigh Valley Hospital Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, in Allentown, Pa. The Pennsylvania Department of Health designated flu as now "widespread" throughout the commonwealth. There have been more than 11,000 laboratory-confirmed flu cases in the state since the flu season began in mid-December. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Why the flu is particularly bad this year

When emergency rooms fill up and everyone's talking about the flu, the natural assumption is that something has changed for the worse. Something probably has, but it's not just the virus. It's us.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel receives a flu shot at a clinic on the city´s North Side. Concerns are similar here.

Flu on the rise, but not as severe as feared

Doctors and hospitals around the region report a continuing upsurge in respiratory infections that have sickened patients of all ages.

Safe ways to relieve your young child's flu symptoms

Medications not intended for children younger than 4, expert says

Sheila Smelkinson, 72, pictured December 21, 2012, in Pikesville, is one of many Maryland patients who has gotten steroid injections that were later found to be tainted with fungus. She has been living in fear of whether she will get meningitis that has already killed dozens of people who received the tainted steroid. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/MCT)

In meningitis outbreak, could you be next?

An outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to a tainted steroid killed has killed 39 people nationwide, two of them in Maryland. Nearly two dozen people living with the disease and hundreds of others who may have been exposed fear they may be next.

Hospitals coping with early, harsh flu season

NEW YORK - From the Rocky Mountains to New England, hospitals are swamped with people with flu symptoms. Some medical centers are turning away visitors or making them wear face masks, and one Allentown, Pa., hospital set up a tent outside its emergency room to deal with the feverish patients.

Flu Still Widespread but Easing in Some States: CDC

45 children have died from flu this season; seniors also especially vulnerable

Will Climate Change Mean Worse Flu Seasons?

New study suggests that unseasonably warm winter one year might lead to nasty flu outbreak the next

People Can Emit Flu Germs in Air Up to 6 Feet Away, Study Finds

Researchers urge more study, new infection-control procedures to protect health care workers

Doubling Up on Cold, Flu Remedies May Harm Liver

More than 600 prescription and over-the-counter meds contain acetaminophen, FDA experts say

Whooping Cough Vaccine for Pregnant Women Among New Recommendations

U.S. experts also say egg allergy is no longer reason to avoid the flu vaccine

No Proof Drugs Ease Kids' Migraines: Study

And some of these meds 'are pretty nasty,' expert says

Flu Still at Epidemic Levels: CDC

Children and seniors especially vulnerable; infections declining in some regions

Health Tip: Coping With the Flu

If symptoms aren't severe, you may not need medication

People With Egg Allergy Can Safely Get Flu Shot: Experts

With study finding, they advise people to have the vaccine

Controversial Bird Flu Research to Resume

U.S. still on hold, but scientists in other countries ready to end moratorium

Hospital Readmissions All Too Common, U.S. Studies Find

It's a complex, system-wide problem, expert says

Got the Flu? Rest First, Exercise Later, Experts Say

Sick athletes should put off vigorous workouts

Health Tip: Protect Against Flu During Pregnancy

Get the yearly flu shot

Thai Chicken Soup with soothing coconut milk, its saturated fat content newly exonerated by research.

Zingy chicken soups to knock the stuffy out of flu

If it hasn't already happened to you, get ready. Even five minutes of casual news watching will alert you: This is the worst cold and flu season in recent memory.

Professor Don Milton, director of the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health in the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland at College Park, at left, demonstrates the G2 machine, January 15, 2013. Research associate, Jovan Pantelic, seated at right, shows how a volunteer with early flu symptoms would be seated with his face in the metal cone to capture exhaled droplets. These are collected by the machinery for analysis in the lab. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun/MCT)

Researchers question how flu is really spread

Sherlyn Ocampo checks the IV line on a patient in the surgical ward at Downey Regional Medical Center on January 17, 2013. Ocampo received her flu shot a few months ago. Like many hospitals across the U.S., the Downey, California, facility is preparing for the flu onslaught. The hospital is asking all of their employees to be vaccinated. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Flu season has office workers taking cover

Flu-fighting foods

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