richard besser starts us off. >> reporter: it's an early outbreak. in arizona, this time last year, there were 18 cases of flu. today, 790. in new york, 84 last year. today, 3,975. massachusetts, 126 last year. today, 3,736. >> we are seeing an average of over 600 cases a week of infl influenza like illness. >> reporter: from kentucky to north carolina, to texas. >> horrible sore throat and ears. >> just makes you feel bald for five, seven days. it's nasty. >> reporter: hospitals now seeing the influx. >> we are having an early influenza season and it's a serious season. we've had a definite uptick in hospitalizations. >> reporter: there hasn't been an outbreak this early for ten years. and that year, the flu season was severe. we know that with just one sneeze the virus can spread almost 20 feet in just seconds. you are infectious a full day before you show any symptoms, a bad mix. but why would this flu season, which usually peaks in february, be spreading so quickly so soon? is this a new flu, one that isn't in this year's sack seine, one we're no

richard besser is here. so, rich, you swear, you say it cannot give you the flu. but afterwards, if you feel that soreness, a little ache, sometimes a tiny bit of fever, it is -- >> reporter: you know, you can feel those. and it's your body reacting. it's building those antibodies. so, what i tell my patients, if you feel that sore arm and that fever, it's going to work even better for you. that can give you some comfort. >> the more you're feeling, the more you're building up antibodies. >> reporter: your body is reacting to that vaccine. >> okay, night after night, you've been saying to me, it's not too late to get the flu shot. is tonight the night it's too late, or -- >> reporter: you look all around america and people are still seeing the flu. as long as you are seeing the flu, it's still out there, there's time to be protected. maybe six weeks, maybe longer. and we are hearing the protection is about 62%. but think about it as a seat belt. it doesn't protect you against everything, but it protects you against a lot. it's a really smart way to go. >> and you'

richard besser, abc news, new york. >>> and now, we turn to some sports news today.yoffs get under way tomorrow afternoon. can't wait for that. the bengals will visit the texans. as for some college football right now, we have some thursday night highlights from espn. >> good morning. i'm hakem dermish with your "sportscenter" update. number four oregon, taking on number five, kansas state. the tostitos fiesta bowl. what could be chip kelly's final college at game. opening kickoff. de'anthony thomas, 93 yards for the touchdown. first return for a touchdown for oregon this season. ducks go for two. they get it. up 8-0 early. more ducks. marcus mariota, to kenjon barner. and number four oregon, takes down kansas state, 35-17. oregon, with the second-straight bcs bowl game victory. and chip kelly, earning his third-straight winning season. >>> indiana hoetsing colorado. under a minute to play. colorado up five. jordan mays would steal. under ten seconds to go. mark wise makes the second. we're tied at 80-80. here we go. sabatino chen. for the win. can you be a hero for

richard besser. so, rich, should everybody be going to the e.r. when they feel sick? >> yeah, i mean, absolutely not. if you were healthy before you got the flu and you're handling it well, you don't need to rush to the e.r. or the your doctor's office. they are going to keep you waiting a long time and while you're waiting there, you could get sick with another virus. so, give them a call and they can handle it that way. >> and who should go? what kind of symptoms? >> yeah, you need to watch for the signs. if you have any difficulty breathing, any shortness of breath. any -- you may have chest pain, that could be pneumonia. sudden dizziness or confusion could mean you are getting dehydrated. if you are getting better and then you start to get worse, that could mean you have a bacterial infection on top and you need to be seen right away. >> you didn't mention fever. >> no, you know, it depends on what goes with fever. fever by itself, don't worry about it. if it has any of those other things, get seen right away. >> thank you, richard besser weighing in again tonight

richard besser. thanks so much, rich. >>> and now, we go to washington, where the president today announced his new team for a new term. today, it was national security. he nominated former senator chuck hagel for secretary of defense. hagel, a man who volunteered for vietnam, who was awarded two purple hearts for his courage. but tonight, he is already facing political fire. why? abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz tells us. >> reporter: president obama made clear today just how important this nomination is for the country. >> my most solemn obligation is the security of the american people. >> reporter: through decades of war and peace, the job of defense secretary has had profound implications. >> if forces to be used, saddam hussein would be removed from power. >> reporter: chuck hagel knows the horrors of war first hand. at 21, a poor kid from nebraska, he volunteered to go to vietnam, fighting side-by-side with his 19-year-old brother, tom. he got two purple hearts. one, whe

richard besser on that. >> reporter: the office is now a flu obstacle course. >> i'm sitting in my car now taking refuge from people at my work who have come in coughing and sneezing and sniffing. >> constantly washing my hands. since i'm in sales, i press the flesh a lot and come into contact with a lot of people. >> all of my coworkers have been sick already this season. >> reporter: watch how many touch a revolving door on the way into the office. 14 in four minutes. so, what is a healthy worker to do? of course, you can wipe down any shared phones, keyboards. wash your hands. but the flu is really about the air that you breathe. an office meeting. one cough could send a cloud of thousands of droplets into the shared air. and the droplets can stay in dry, indoor air for 15 to 30 minutes. so, the next people that walk into this room will breathe in the flu. try phone meetings. don't hang out at that water cooler. stay away from people. the smartest way to head off the flu is this -- if you're sick, don't go to work. dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >>> and tonight, the weather

thank you, rich besser.nt advice. >>> we're going to turn now to the debate over gun violence one month after sandy hook. the parents of ana marquez greene are with us for an announcement later today. first, here's jon karl with the measures vice president biden is set to announce tomorrow. jon, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, george. vice president biden has one last meeting before issuing the recommendations. in a sign of how difficult this will be to get any of this passed in congress, he's meeting with democrats only today, no republicans. gun owners certainly think big change is coming. just look at the long lines at this florida gun show over the weekend. >> trying to get them while we still can. >> reporter: the gun control debate is heating up. >> i'm urging our major gun retailers in america, the walmarts, the sports authorities, to voluntarily suspend sales of modern assault-style weapons. >> reporter: they spent the weekend working on the recommendations. they're expected to include stren

richard besser is here. so, exactly how much? what did this study show? >> reporter: well, it was a study out of australia. they looked at 2,400 people for 15 years and found that aspirin doubled your risk of macular degeneration, which, as you said, causes blindness. the risk is small. only 3.5%, but if you add that to what we know about aspirin causing internal bleeding, you really need to make sure you're someone who is going to benefit from being on aspirin. >> so, all the people who are being given aspirin, who take aspirin, thinking it's for their health, where do you start tonight? what do you ask your doctor when you go in? >> reporter: well, i mean, clearly, if you've had a heart attack or stroke, it can be life-saving. so, you need to be on that drug. next thing, you want to know if you are high risk. to find that out, did someone in your family have a heart attack or stroke at an early age. or do you have other risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes? if you have those, your doctor can actually tell you what your risk will be o

richard besser, abc news, new york. >> could be something truly new. >>> and, coming up next, can youll what is different about the first lady? tell what is different about the first lady? on this, her birthday. if your a man with lorone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood

richard besser shows us something that could mean the nightmare could be over. >> reporter: her eyesre closed. body unable to move. but angela was conscious, on the operating table. >> it was like a searing pain. i felt like i was being burned. >> reporter: an emergency c-section, under general anesthesia. doctors had no way to know she could feel everything. >> as awake as i am right now. >> reporter: and having surgery? >> and having surgery. both with feeling and sensation except i was paralyzed. >> reporter: she experienced anesthesia awareness. it's more common in women and runs in families. and for every 1,000 patients who are under general anesthesia, roughly one or two will be aware. it happens because anesthesia is really more an art than a science. a forest of beeping monitors can't always tell a doctor if a patient is truly unconscious. >> a way to inject a little current -- >> reporter: the new issue of "the atlantic" on stands today reports on what may be a breakthrough. a new approach that could monitor consciousness itself. >> you don't want the patient to move, to fee

richard besser in a moment. but sharyn alfonsi is here with the latest on secretary clinton's condition. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this morning, clinton is being monitored closely and being given blood thinners to break up that clot. her family rallying at her bedside, as the normally globetrotting secretary is grounded, forced to spend a fourth day in the hospital. the former president and chelsea clinton leaving the hospital where the secretary is being treated this morning. the secret service stationed outside. chelsea tweeting, thank you all for sending good thoughts to my mom's way. grateful to all her doctors. and that she'll make a full recovery. >> reporter: it's been three weeks since the secretary of state was last seen in public. during an overseas tour where she picked up a bad stomach virus. days later, she fainted and got a nasty concussion. an mri refeeling she had a blood clot. her doctors saying a scan revealed a clot in the vein that's situationed in the space between the brain a

besser is standing by, but first, abc's matha raddatz is in washington. and martha, this is a lot worse than many thought. >> reporter: it sure seems to be, david. we waited 24 hours for detail about this clot, but now, for the first time, we know the clot is not in clinton's leg, it is in a vein next to her brain. tonight, the normally globetrotting secretary of state is in a hospital room, monitored closely and being given blood thinners to break up the clot. family members including daughter chelsea have been at her side. the clot was discovered on an mri on sunday. a statement from her doctors tonight, saying, "the scan revealed a clot in the vein that is situated in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear." the statement says the secretary did not suffer a stroke or any neurological damage. but this is clearly a serious setback. it was december 7th when the secretary was last seen in public, during an overseas tour where she picked up a bad stomach virus. days later, still ill, the secretary fainted and got that nasty concussio

richard besser will have more on "gma." more about the nature of autism and the role of therapy and factors in the long-term outcome for these children. that's very encouraging. >> it is, it is. we're hearing so much more about autism and the testing that's being done. it seems that the earlier it's caught that the treatment options are better. >> certainly does. >> perhaps this is a move in the right direction. >>> ready to talk about your favorite subject of the morning? the flu? the flu season delivering a knockout punch to many people across the country. the folks at the sundance film festival aren't taking chances. the hospitals in park city, utah, handing out 5,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, hoping to keep the flu from spreading with 50,000 visitors. that won't nearly be enough sanitizer. they're also asking guests to bring their own. >> i didn't think the sanitizer would work, actually. it's a virus, not a bacteria. >> but washing your hands, no matter what -- >> you're not touching things. >> exactly right. i don't

richard besser said this is a setback. >> this is a much more serious complication than a clot in the leg. a clot in the transverse sinus, a large brain along the side of the brain is a potentially life-threatening complication. >> reporter: clinton originally fell ill during a stomach virus at the bang of the month. days later she hit her head after fainting at home, suffering a concussion. 1998 clinton was hospitalized for a clot behind her right knee, following a busy travel expowd while campaigning pass first lady. >> does she have a problem with clotting in general? if she does, she might have to be on medication for that. >> reporter: clinton's doctors said she's making excellent progress. reporting for abc news, new york. >>> crews are cleaning up after one of the world's biggest new year's eve parties. mounds of trash covering the streets. an estimated 1 million people filled the so-called cross roads of the world to bring in 2013. it has happened in times square since 1904. >> out with the old habits and in with the new. habits are easy to make and easier to break. ways to st

richard besser. >> barbara has the chickenpox. yeah.rently she's never had it as a child, so now she's being told to rest. she's not allowed any visitors, and we're telling you barbara, no scratching. >> reporter: it's not as rare as you might think. if you're over 25, there's a good chance you didn't get the chickenpox vaccine, introduced in 1995. and if you didn't get the vaccine and never had chickenpox, you could be just like barbara. about 30,000 get chickenpox every year. it's spread through the air and contact with those itchy spots. if you've never had chickenpox and never had the vaccine, you might want to get to a doctor's office and get it now. adult chickenpox isn't just inconvenient, it can lead to complications. like pneumonia and bacterial infection. in barbara's case, chickenpox is causing that annoying itching. >> those spots will spread even worse if you scratch them up. we love you and miss you, we just don't want to hug you. >> reporter: even if you're had the chickenpox, you can still get shingles. which is caused b

richard besser here to tell us what can. >>> the comeback. the big five-year rally on wall street today. a lot more money for retirement. >>> ice age. firefighters and everyone sliding off the road tonight. >>> the gun next door. hundreds of thousands of guns stolen from homes on your block. an abc news investigation. >>> and hillary's health. what we learned about why she's really wearing those glasses. >>> good evening on this friday. this nation still fighting the flu, and facing another warning tonight. top scientists say a new strain of a powerful norovirus is now racing person to person across the country. it's a severe stomach flu easy to get, hard to prevent. abc's ch

richard besser. >> reporter: the earliest flu season in a decade.with 80% of the country reporting severe flu, the cdc told me that in high flu states, 70% to 80% of the coughs around you right now are from the flu. each cough, sneeze or conversation puts flu into the air and into your lungs. it lands on railings, in the diner. everyone touches the salt and pepper shakers. on the atm and on every door you touch. the virus can survive two to eight hours on plastic or metal. parking meter. how many people have touched this one. if someone with flu touched this three hours ago, i could pick it up on my hand. hands take it straight to the nose and mouth. a facebook app that tries to find which friend gave you the flu. and flu near you 20,000 volunteers tracking their symptoms down to the zip codes. >> there is nowhere to hide. >> reporter: advice from the cdc -- there's still time to get the flu shot and wash your hands. a lot. if you do get the flu, there are a couple of drug options, tamiflu and rolenza. they are recommended for people with serious ri

richard besser says it's possible that clinton will need to stay on long-term medication. >> i've beeno a number of neuro surgeons about this. she had had a clot in her leg once before and now she has a clot in a large vessel in her head. she will likely have a big workup to see does she have a problem with clotting in general. if she does, she might need to be on a medication for that for maybe the rest of her life. >> doctors say she'll stay in the hospital until she's on the proper dose of medication. but excellent progress and good spirits. >> good news there. thank goodness they caught this on a precautionary mri. and thank god they did. >> typically something like this can lead to a stroke or worse. >> absolutely. the most admired woman in america, according to all the polls. >>> let's talk about a new jersey condo complex, damaged by hurricane sandy. it's now been hit by fire. about 100 firefighters battling the massive blaze yesterday morning. fire officials say no one was seriously hurt. residents have been struggling to recover in the aftermath of sandy. the cause is under in

besser right here with what this means. and what mrs.nton just told barbara walters after becoming the most traveled secretary of state. >> are you exhausted? >> i am. to be honest, i am. >>> the big chill. a million americans in times square tonight. this evening, the security, the weather. some of the coldest temperatures of the winter. and what we didn't know about something else that will be falling at midnight.

richard besser has the details. >> reporter: it's an early brown trout yek.oday, 890. in new york, 84 last year. today, 3,975. massachusetts, 126 last year. today, 3,736. >> we are seeing an average of over 600 cases a week of flu-like illness. the volume is unusual for this time of year. >> reporter: from kentucky to north carolina to texas. >> horrible sore throat and ears. >> just makes you feel bad for five to seven days. it's nasty. >> reporter: hospitals now seeing the influx. >> we are having an early flu season and it's serious. we've had a definite uptick in hospitalizations. >> reporter: there hasn't been an outbreak this early for ten years. and that year, the flu season was severe. we know that with just one sneeze, the virus can spread almost 20 feet in seconds. you're infectious a full day before you show any symptoms. but why would this flu season be spreading so quickly, so soon? is this a new flu, one that isn't in this year's vaccine, one that we're not immune to? so far the vaccine seems to be a good match. >> i can't remember it starting e

. >>> hi, my name is ken besser, i'm a resident of the city and county of san francisco. i live in mount davidson. i actually represent a business locally here called cresco equipment, we've been in the office [speaker not understood]. we supply the equipment for it, done it for many years.

mmm, besser. and you can buy it by the wheel, wedge, or a wafer-thin slice to take with you on a hike. danke shon. wiedersehen! wiedersehen! bye-bye! >> i, barack hussein obama, do solemnly swear -- >> this week, the sec inauguration of barack obama. >> we reject that america must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in a generation that will build its future. >> where does he go from here? the benghazi hearings. hillary clinton on the carpet. >> had i been present at the time, i would have excuse you from your post. >> it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> lifting the ban on women in combat. >> i think america's daughters are just as capable as defending freedom as their sons are. >> you do not want to miss with mary jo. mary joe does not intimidate easily. >> the second obama administration began with an 19- minute 2114-word address that senate minority leader mitch mcconne

richard besser is here talking about what all of us can do to keep from getting it. and here in the northeast, already see a lot of the flu. >> yeah. i mean, this is unusually early. take a look at this map. the east coast in particularly, the southeast, has been really slammed by the flu. but what you should see is over the course of the next new months, it's going to continue to spread. through march, it's not too late to get vaccinated against the flu. and there are choices. once again, adults can get the shot. but there's a choice of a nasal spray vaccine. no needle involved. it will protect you from the flu. >> if you take the vaccine, can you still get the flu? >> unfortunately, the flu vaccine is not one of our better vaccines in terms of protection. but it's the best protection we have. and we won't know until later in the season how well it protects. but the vaccine strains are the same ones that are circulating. so, that is good news. >> okay, the vaccine is one step. what are other things people can do to prevent it? >> well, clearly, you want to wash your

richard besser here to tell us what can. >>> the comeback. the big five-year rally on wall street today. a lot more money for retirement. >>> ice ij. firefighters everyone sliding off the road tonight. >>> the gun next door. hundreds of thousands of guns stolen from homes on your block. an abc news investigation. >>> and hillary tells us about why she's really wearing those glasses. >>> good evening on this friday. this nation still fighting the flu, and facing another warning tonight. top scientists say a new strain of a powerful norovirus is now racing person to person across the country. it's a severe stomach flu easy to get, hard to prevent. abc's chief medical editor, an expert on viruss and epidemics tells us what's new tonight. >> reporter: tonight, it is being called a "superbug." we now know this new strain of norovirus, which makes people violently ill is now ripping across the country. first identified in australia, it is now ripping across the country. in an average year, about 21 million americans get norovirus, with those classi

. >>> now, if you get sick, abc news medical editor richard besser says stay home if you can.f you have trouble breathing or you're getting better and take a turn for the worse, that's when you should head for the hospital. >>> big news for the millions of americans who take sleeping pills. the fda is ordering drug companies that make ambien and similar medications to cut the dosage in half for women. new research shows the sleep aids stay in the body longer than initially thought. and women, in particular, process it more slowly. the study found eight hours after taking ambien, many women are too impaired and drowsy to drive. >>> a boy abducted by his grandparents 19 years ago in indiana has been found, living under a different name in minnesota. this is richard wayne landers jr., as a 5-year-old. he is now 24. landers was taken away by his grandparents who were upset over a custody fight. no word yet whether those grandparents will be prosecuted. >>> and in sports this morning, nhl players have until tomorrow morning to approve a new labor deal that would end the current loc

richard besser.s of the flu vaccine are running flow. 128 million doses have been distributed. but clinics are struggling to keep up with the demand. >> in boston, they're handing some out for free, saying come get it. the other part of what dr. besser said is that a fever in and of itself is not enough to go to the hospital. you need to have one of those other symptoms to warrant a trip to the hospital. a lot of cities now, the e.r.s are packed with coughing, sneezing. >> i hope people will just get the flu shot. i know there's that urban legend around if you get the flu shot it makes you more susceptible to getting the flu. it's just not true. so hopefully people will go, or at least for the elderly and the chirp. >> some people have an egg allergy, and would have something far worse if they got the flu. >> you're going to get your flu shot. >> when i see you again monday, i will be here, i will be all shotted up. >> we'll check on him. >>> you've heard of drive-in movies and drive through banking,

richard besser is here, he's tracked food illnesses in his career and he's got the big news. >> yeah, i started my career working in food safety. finally we're starting to see rules develop that could make a big difference. this points us to a future where people can eat their dinner without being afraid. jensen farms cantaloupe might not have killed 33. the sunland peanut factory might not have sickened 42. contaminated spinach might not have sent 13 to the hospital just last month. and 8-year-old nate lebron wouldn't have spent three days in the hospital because he ate a peanut butter sandwich. >> the stomach cramps, i was screaming loud and i was saying, why this is happening to me? >> reporter: two years waiting. and finally, rules to take the fear of bacterial contamination away from the produce aisle. from the spinach fields of california to the peanut production lines of new mexico, food safety specialists have spent two years begging for these regulations. >> today's action is a big deal. it's good news for consumers. it's good news for food companies. >> reporter: instead of

richard besser tells us what we know about her condition tonight. >> reporter: just hours ago, secretary clinton was seen outside of the hospital, reportedly for testing. look again. here she is, up and walking to her car. the state department today told us she's begun quite active on the phone with calls to her staff. the 65-year-old secretary of state is the most traveled in history. 112 countries, almost a million miles logged, more than a year of her life shuttling from nation to nation. but this clot has grounded her. the tricky treatment? anticoagulants, also called blood thinners. doctors need to monitor a delicate balance of dosage. they're trying to thin the blood around the clot to stabilize it and prevent it from getting bigger, while her body works to try to shrink it. her doctors haven't said what caused the clot. but possible factors putting clinton at risk? dehydration from the stomach flu that she had in december. or is it somehow related to the concussion sustained at the same time? or could she have a clotting disorder, which makes her blood more susceptible to clot for

besser will stay on this. thanks. >>> we turn to the showdown in washington over president obama's nominee for secretary of defense. a senior administration source confirming it will be former republican senator chuck hagel. the announcement could come as early as tomorrow. one senator already calling this an in your face move. david kerley is at the white house tonight. >> reporter: as the president returns from hawaii, senior fishlgs tell abc news he will nominate former republican senator has chuck hagel as the next secretary of defense. >> chuck hagel is out of the mainstream of thinking, i believe, on most issues regarding foreign policy. >> reporter: today republicans raised red flags, continuing a campaign against chuck hagel. >> chuck hagel is not a responsible option. >> reporter: democrats too have been cold to hagel, a social conservative. republicans complain about his stand on affingts afghanistan -- that we went beyond our mission. and his opposition to the surge in iraq, saying it -- >> represen

richard besser. >> reporter: three years after dennis brooks had his arthritic hip replaced, he began to feel the pain. it became so bad that he just had his hip replacement replaced. >> i was depressed that i had to go through this again because as far as i was concerned, they didn't do their research. >> reporter: brooks' original hip replacement was made entirely of metal and that appears to have been the problem. something his new surgeon, dr. steven harwin, says he sees all too often. >> i've never been an advocate for metal on metal hips. i was skeptical about some of the results when we had these early reports of failure. >> reporter: hip replacements are a great medical success story, versions made of ceramic and plastic, but some new artificial hips are entirely metal. and for the estimated half a million americans who now have metal on metal hips, the news hasn't been good. johnson & johnson recalled their all-metal hip in 2010. a deposition revealed a 2011 internal company document predicted that almost 40% of those hips would go bad within five years. johnson & johnson say

richard besser tells us, tens of thousands of adults can also be at risk. >> bar are has the chickenpox. yeah. >> what? >> apparently she never had it as a child. so, now she's being told to rest. she's not allowed any visitors and we're telling you, barbara, no scratching, okay? >> reporter: it's not as rare as you might think. if you are over 25, there's a good chance you didn't get the chickenpox vaccine, introduced in 1995. and if you didn't get the vaccine, and never had chickenpox, you could be just like barbara. about 30,000 adults get chickenpox every year. it is spread through the air and contact with those itchy spots. if you have never had chixen pox and never had the vaccine, you might want to get to a doctor's office and get it now. adult chickenpox isn't just inconvenient. it can also lead to complications, like pneumonia, brain inflammation and bacterial infections. in barbara's case, chickenpox is causing that annoying itching. >> the spots will spread worse if you scratch them up. we love you, we miss you, we just don't want to hug you. >> reporter: and even if you had

richard besser is here to show you. >> tonight, i'm cautiously optimistic, finally a sign in southern states hit earliest, and hardest, that the peak of the flu epidemic has passed. tonight, amid all of the sneezing and coughing, a glimmer of hope. we talked to hospitals and health departments across the south and many are seeing it. from knoxville, tennessee, "we're seeing that downturn." to north carolina, "looks like we peaked early." but it's not universal. even in the same states, some hospitals are still getting slammed. "our numbers don't yet reflect a downturn," a doctor from duke university hospital, also in north carolina, tells us. this year's flu season hit early, november 25th, a month earlier than a typical one. we're now six weeks into it, and if this year is like years past, we are likely to have six or more weeks to go. it's not too late to get some protection and today, the cdc provided first indication as to how well the vaccine is working. turns out it's 62% effective, meaning, if you got the vaccine you're 62% less likely to have to visit your doctor for the flu.