An influenza diagnosis for people 65 and older is serious. Up to 85 percent of influenza-related deaths occur in older adults, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention reports.

If you think you have the flu, making decisions about whether to seek care is as easy as asking Alexa. Vanderbilt’s Flu Tool, an online resource that uses a series of questions to help patients determine if they or a family member may have the flu, has now been adapted for use with Alexa, Amazon’s cloud-based voice service.

From Vanderbilt Magazine: James Crowe, director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, hopes to create a universal flu vaccine--permanently eliminating the problem of ineffective or under-effective annual flu shots.

“We provide excellence in healthcare, research and education. We treat others as we wish to be treated. We continuously evaluate and improve our performance.” 

Discover what strains are prominent, how effective this year’s vaccine is, and how hard the virus has hit Tennessee so far.

Infectious disease experts are warning that flu can lead to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and disability in elderly patients for months after they have recovered from their illness.

Neighborhood determinants – represented by census tract data – contribute to the risk of influenza hospitalization and could be used to guide interventions such as vaccinations to high-risk areas.