Flu Comes Early to Alabama
Experts Predict Bad Flu Season
Have you gotten your flu vaccine yet? Officials at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the flu season is starting earlier this year (the earlier start in a decade), and they predict it will be a bad flu year. Alabama and four other southern states are seeing the most flu activity right now.
The strain of flu that’s most prevalent this year is H3N2, not to be confused with the H3N2v that sickened kids at county fairs over the summer. Just how do they name these viruses? Here’s an explanation. There are 17 “H”s (#1-7 and #9 are all found in humans; the rest are found in birds, swine or other animals). There are 9 “N”s (#1 and 2 found in humans, the rest in various animals species). In 1918, H1N1 (aka Spanish Flu) killed up to 50 million people worldwide (many of them young, healthy people), making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.
Officials say this year’s vaccine is a good match. Each year in the United States there are 15M – 60M cases of seasonal flu. There are 54,000 – 430,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 – 49,000 deaths, depending on the size and severity of the outbreak.
These major issues have brought together Democrats and Republicans in states
Across the country, Republicans and Democrats have found bipartisan agreement on regulating artificial intelligence and data centers. But it's not just big tech aligning the two parties.
Feds announce $4.1 billion loan for electric power expansion in Alabama
Federal energy officials said the loan will save customers money as the companies undertake a huge expansion driven by demand from computer data centers.
Mortgage rates fall below 6% for the first time in years
The average home loan rate has dropped below 6% for the first time since 2022. Will that help thaw the frozen housing market?
Pentagon shifts toward maintaining ties to Scouting
Months after NPR reported on the Pentagon's efforts to sever ties with Scouting America, efforts to maintain the partnership have new momentum
Why farmers in California are backing a giant solar farm
Many farmers have had to fallow land as a state law comes into effect limiting their access to water. There's now a push to develop some of that land… into solar farms.
Every business wants your review. What’s with the feedback frenzy?
Customers want to read reviews and businesses need reviews to attract customers. But the constant demand for reviews could be creating a feedback backlash, experts say.
