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It's not too late to protect yourself from the flu

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    Doctors urge vaccinations with peak of season still weeks away

  • Duration 3:21
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This is a story that affects just about everybody because -- all likelihood you know somebody's affected by this health officials in Boston.

Have a flu emergency on their hands 700 cases so far at least four deaths in that city.

The outbreak spreading fast across the country 41 states report widespread cases of the flu already.

And 29 of those states the promise even more severe so how much worse can this get doctor Marc Siegel member of the -- medical eighteen.

And from the NYU blamed on medical center Duckett morning to you -- -- -- at the peak yet -- -- I don't think so I think maybe another three or four weeks before appearing here for weeks and we say it's not the worst flu season ever.

But he is the worst we've seen in what.

Ten years you have because there was looks a strain in 20034.

Which is very similar to the one we're having right now that string was -- and led to the deaths -- over 40000 people.

This is a very similar strain it starts early it should peak either at the end of this month or sometime next month.

But that gives people a chance to do what I'm about to tell misses -- a happy story because it's scary is this is.

You can get a flu shot now in 2003.

Get a flu shot now and still be guarded against is -- -- exactly because the CDC made a 135 million shots this year but we have less than 40% compliance right now people out there can going get a shot.

Today probably your physician or your pharmacy.

Still has a flu shot it takes about two to three weeks before it's effective and by then.

The season will be really peaking since they just -- this year and they match the strain in the street and it's causing all this fabric.

Is 75 to 80% of the flew out there this strain is covered by the this year's flu.

Now -- -- get -- out a moment but important point here it takes two to three weeks for the flu shot to be effective in your body.

I salute our -- and you're saying that this year's match matches the strain that's out there.

We have a member of our staff who's been in bed for the past week.

What she's saying is that doctors are telling her that you guess every year not -- in particular.

But the CDC trying to figure out which strains going to be the worst and this year they missed is that true or not.

The first part of that is true that guess every year they looked down in South America and Asia they see what the prevailing strains are during our summer there winter.

And then they see what's going to happen.

And this year they got it right they did not miss this year the predominant strain is covered in the that we look to other parts of the world the -- with a strained us.

It's actually wrote this for something called flow -- it's a little footnote that the CDC does together with the World Health Organization it's real partnership with excellent tell me about what's happening in Boston what is the U what is the real concern to use -- -- to -- having written a book on fear of the real concern is that people are gonna panic.

-- bill we don't have what's called surge capacity -- our emergency rooms that means that -- emergency rooms are -- -- limit to begin with.

If there's an outbreak.

They can't handle it because.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- There may be just -- fluids to stay at home runs taken talk to a doctor first for this morning and he really helping you are and stay calm.

But because I don't want people in the emergency rooms interfering with other medical -- points thank you -- -- talk -- you later -- registered Mark -- here in studio Martha.

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