Flu season off to normal start

December 13, 2013 at 10:17 AM
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ATLANTA (AP) — Health officials say the flu season seems to be getting off to more normal start this year.

Reports of the flu have been increasing, particularly in the South. But it's nothing like last year, when flu hit early and very hard in early December.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said last year's flu season landed about 381,000 people in the hospital — the most since at least 2005. A contributing factor: The flu vaccine was only 51 percent effective overall