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Kentucky child dies from flu
FRANKFORT — A child in Kentucky has died from influenza, state health officials said Friday, marking the latest in a series of concerning developments as respiratory illnesses surge across the state. The child had not received a flu vaccine this season, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. “Influenza is on the rise across
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Respiratory illness in Kentucky resurged in the week ended Feb. 10
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS After weeks of overall decline, three major respiratory illnesses increased in Kentucky during the week ended Feb. 10, with children between the ages of 5 and 17 getting hit hard by influenza. The Kentucky Department for Public Health’s weekly report says flu and COVID-19 activity is elevated and increasing
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Seasonal respiratory illness in Kentucky declined for three weeks
Numbers still considered elevated BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Emergency department visits and hospital admissions for respiratory disease in Kentucky have dropped for three weeks in a row, but the Kentucky Department for Public Health still considers the rate of respiratory virus activity to be elevated and the number of hospitalizations to be high.
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State reports two children have died, one from flu and one from COVID-19, but hospital visits show first decline in months
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS As the state reported the first two deaths of children from COVID-19 and influenza, Kentucky saw the first drops in emergency-room visits and hospital admissions for the diseases in more than three months. The weekly respiratory-illness update from the state Department for Public Health showed a 21% drop in
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As respiratory illnesses keep rising in Kentucky by double digits weekly, another one, with a long-lingering cough, is also circulating
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS As illness from the three respiratory viruses tracked by the state — influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — continue to increase in Kentucky, another one with a lingering cough that can last for months is spreading over much of the country, including the Bluegrass State. “We have
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Kentucky COVID hospitalizations more than double, exceed U.S. rate, but hospitals say they have been small and ‘manageable’
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Kentucky has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases, and local outbreaks, along with other illnesses, have shut down several school districts. This has also been reflected in hospital admissions, which is considered one of the most reliable indicators for tracking the virus since the end of the public-health emergency
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Schools in Lee, Magoffin close due to COVID-19, other illnesses
KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS The predicted “summer surge” of COVID-19 has been relatively small but large enough in some Kentucky school districts to make them suspend classes. Magoffin County schools closed Thursday and Friday, and Lee County schools closed Tuesday through Friday due to illness, WKYT reports. Thursday and Friday were nontraditional instruction days. Magoffin County
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New vaccines for COVID-19, flu, RSV expected to curb ever-mutating respiratory viruses
KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Americans will have access to several vaccines this fall to protect them against respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but effectively deploying them is expected to be challenging and confusing. With the latest major mutation of the COVID-19 virus, “We have to have a lot of humility .
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FDA approves first-ever RSV vaccine for people 60 and older
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS People 60 and older now have access to the first approved vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus. The vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is called Arexvy and was approved May 3 by the Food and Drug Administration. “Today’s approval of the first RSV vaccine is an important public-health achievement to prevent
