Knock On Wood: So Far There’s No Indication That This Year’s Flu Season Will Be As Severe As Last Winter
But officials are still urging Californians to get their flu shot.
Modesto Bee:
Will The Upcoming Flu Season Be As Deadly As Last Year?
Stanislaus County health officials are gearing up for a new season that’s expected to peak between December and February. With the 2017-18 flu season, outbreaks caused unprecedented levels of illness and hospitalization in California and resulted in 324 deaths in people age 64 and younger. (Carlson, 10/18)
In other public health news —
Ventura County Star:
Ventura County Residents Debate The Facts On Vaccines, Politics, More
When Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer Dr. Charity Dean launched a review of medical exemptions granted to allow school children to bypass vaccinations, she found herself slapped with a lawsuit, trolled on social media and targeted in death threats real enough to warrant bodyguards. It didn’t matter alleged links to autism that pushed some parents away from vaccinations have been debunked by repeated research. The belief of danger trumped mainstream science. Dean said because she intruded on the belief, she was portrayed as part of the conspiracy. (Kisken, 10/18)
Los Angeles Times:
The More Equal Women And Men Are, The Less They Want The Same Things, Study Finds
Imagine an egalitarian society that treats women and men with equal respect, where both sexes are afforded the same opportunities, and the economy is strong. What would happen to gender differences in this utopia? Would they dissolve? The answer, according to a new study, is a resounding no. The findings, published Thursday in Science, suggest that on the contrary, gender differences across six key personality traits — altruism, trust, risk, patience, and positive and negative reciprocity — increase in richer and more gender-equal societies. Meanwhile, in societies that are poorer and less egalitarian, these gender differences shrink. (Netburn, 10/18)