This Flu Season Is the Worst in Nearly a Decade
This year's flu season is now more intense than any since the 2009 swine flu pandemic and still getting worse, federal health officials said on Friday.
Nationally, the number of people falling ill with flu is increasing. More worrying, the hospitalization rate — a predictor of the death rate — has just jumped.
This week, the deaths of seven children were reported to the C.D.C., bringing this season's total to 37. The agency still recommends that Americans get flu shots. Because some doctors and pharmacies have none left, doctors suggested checking vaccinefinder.org to find providers with stocks.
More people fell ill during the 2009 "swine flu" pandemic, but that was a new virus. This year's dominant virus, H3N2, has been circulating for 50 years — it emerged as the "Hong Kong flu" in 1968 — but it is usually the most lethal of the seasonal strains.
People over 65 are the most likely to be hospitalized. But in an unusual twist, those aged 50 to 64 — rather than infants — are the age cohort right behind the elderly.
"Baby boomers have higher hospitalization rates than their grandchildren right now," Dr. Daniel B. Jernigan, director of the C.D.C.'s influenza division, said during a telephone news conference Friday.
Hospitalizations and deaths among people in that age group can hurt the economy more than deaths of the elderly, he noted, since they are in their peak earning years and often in supervisory positions.
▍普通生词好句
intense /ɪnˈtɛns/: adj. 猛烈的；强烈的
swine /swʌɪn/: n. 猪
predictor /prɪˈdɪktə/: n. 预见因素；预言家
agency /ˈeɪdʒ(ə)nsi/: n. 部门；机构
stock /stɒk/: n. 存货；存量
circulate /ˈsəːkjʊleɪt/: vi. 传播；流传
twist /twɪst/: n. 转折（点）
infant /ˈɪnf(ə)nt/: n. 婴儿
cohort /ˈkəʊhɔːt/: n.（有某种共同特征的）一伙人
supervisory /suːpəˈvʌɪzəri/: adj. 监督的；督导的
▍话题相关表达
flu season: 流感（高发）季
swine flu: 猪流感
flu shot: 流感疫苗
hospitalization /ˌhɒspɪt(ə)lʌɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/: n. 住院
rate of hospitalization / hospitalization rate: 住院率
death rate: 死亡率
C.D.C.: Centers for Disease Control（美国疾病控制中心）
pharmacy /ˈfɑːməsi/: n. 药房
drug store: 药房
pharmacist /ˈfɑːməsɪst/: n. 药剂师
health care provider: 医疗服务供应商（包括：医院、医生、护士、药剂师等）
vaccine /ˈvaksɪn, ˈvaksiːn/: n. 疫苗
epidemic /ɛpɪˈdɛmɪk/: n. 传染病
pandemic /panˈdɛmɪk/: n. 广泛传播的疾病
virus /ˈvʌɪrəs/: n. 病毒
lethal /ˈliːθ(ə)l/: adj. 致命的
strain /streɪn/: n.（病的）种类
hospitalize /ˈhɒspɪt(ə)lʌɪz/: vt. 使住院；就医（多用于被动语态）
influenza /ɪnflʊˈɛnzə/: n. 流感（= flu）
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