CDC: This year’s flu season worse than last

The NBC Nightly News (1/6, story 11, 0:20, Holt) briefly reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “says this [flu] season is worse than last,” with “more than 10,000 cases reported nationwide.” Physicians are saying, however, that the “flu shot is a good match for this year’s dominant strain and it’s not too late to get one.”

USA Today (1/6, Hughes) reported that federal epidemiologist Lynnette Brammer “said while it’s too early to tell if the annual flu vaccine is effective, it closely matches the strains of flu commonly in circulation, which suggests it will be effective.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Post (1/7, Cimons) said that according to the recent CDC report, “only 2 out of 5 Americans have received the shot so far this flu season.”