Maricopa County’s last flu shot clinic Saturday was its best ever, doling out more than 4,000 doses of vaccine and leaving a relatively small number of unused doses, according to a county official.

After a slight dip last week, lab-confirmed influenza reports increased again in the most recent report on the state Department of Health Services website.

After a slight dip last week, lab-confirmed influenza reports increased again in the most recent report on the state Department of Health Services website.

After a slight dip last week, lab-confirmed influenza reports increased again in the most recent report on the state Department of Health Services website.

You are not invincible. Even if you're crazy enough to believe you can't get influenza, understand that you can spread the flu to other people. Even those you love. Even people who are at high risk for complications, like your newborn niece or your grandmother.

Arizona's flu season is starting to kick into high gear, county health officials said Monday.

Millions of doses of flu vaccine will expire at midnight June 30, unsold during this year's mild flu season and written off as trash. Still perfectly good, and possibly useful for a few more years, the vaccine will wind up being destroyed.

Senior citizens in Arizona have not been affected as much as younger people this flu season, statistics show. According to state figures, a third of the patients have been ages 19 to 49 (33 percent). The next largest group has been ages 5 to 18 (24 percent), followed by the very young, newborn to 4 years old (22 percent). More than three-quarters of cases have been influenza A, which includes the H1N1 strain. H3 is the most predominant subtype of lab-confirmed influenza this year.

If Edith Coe gets the flu, her already labored breathing from a chronic respiratory condition would worsen and she might have to go back to the hospital for the third time this year.

October 24, 2004

WASHINGTON - This year’s flu vaccine shortage could cost the nation up to $20 billion in lost productivity — almost twice as much as in a typical year — depending on the severity of the outbreak, according to one estimate.

Up to 40 percent of Chandler city employees could call in sick in the event of a severe H1N1 “swine flu” virus outbreak this fall, officials say. However, the police and fire departments are putting in place staffing plans so emergency services won’t go unanswered.

WASHINGTON - South Carolina is in. Utah and Alabama, too. And Arizona is close. Some states aren’t waiting for an Aug. 1 deadline to seek help from the federal government in buying anti-flu medicine for a possible pandemic.

WASHINGTON - South Carolina is in. Utah and Alabama, too. And Arizona is close. Some states aren’t waiting for an Aug. 1 deadline to seek help from the federal government in buying anti-flu medicine for a possible pandemic.

Influenza appears to be off to a slower start compared with last year, according to weekly data reported by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Health officials are confirming the first flu case of the season. Both the state and Maricopa County say an unvaccinated woman in her early 30's is now recovering at home.

January 12, 2005

Public health officials are trying to decide what to do with thousands of leftover doses of influenza vaccine as time runs out for protection from the flu.

If a bunch of your coworkers or classmates called in sick this past week, it likely wasn’t holiday hooky.

Influenza is now “"widespread”" in Arizona, according to the latest report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Signs outside Scottsdale Healthcare Shea hospital warned of disaster Wednesday. Any individual who entered the premises was scanned for a flu outbreak and hundreds of sick victims shuffled through a triage while children lay dying, strewn on the ground.

Temperatures still hover around 100 degrees and you haven’t even put the pool toys away, but health care workers already are gearing up for the flu and urging seniors and others at risk to protect themselves now.

Temperatures still hover around 100 degrees and you haven’t even put the pool toys away, but health care workers already are gearing up for the flu and urging seniors and others at risk to protect themselves now.

Just a friendly reminder from your neighbor: Please cough or sneeze into your elbow, shoulder, or inside of your jacket.