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Here Comes The Flu, And It's Going To Be Bad

DENVER (CBS4) - First things first: This flu season's will be especially severe.

What's worse, this year's flu vaccine is not protecting us from the most common strain circulating through the United States.

That's according to a health advisory sent to physicians from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.

Every year, CBS4 medical expert Dr. Dave Hnida says, physicians hammer home the message: Get your flu shot. It's still good advice, even if the strain we're inoculated against isn't the most common bug out there.

Here's what you need to know:

- Typically four strains of flu are covered in each year's flu shot.

- This year, one of the four, H3N2, has mutated.

- Studies show that about half the people vaccinated are protected against H3N2, but half are not, and they are getting sick.

- So far this year, the strain that's the most common is this mutated strain.

It's harsh, particularly in the elderly, children and people with health problems. The season is mild so far, but doctors expect it to get worse as it spreads. Patients already sick are really sick.

Still there's hope: There are prescription medicines like Tamiflu that can lessen the symptoms and length of the flu.

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