We’re in the midst of flu season and according to the Centers for Disease Control, flu cases around the country are continuing to rise. Fortunately, we’re not yet at epidemic levels, but we’re still early in flu season.

The U.S. Health and Human Services have divided the country into 10 regions, nine of which have reported flu-like symptoms and cases above the region-specific baseline. The national baseline is 2.2% for outpatient visits for flu-like illnesses and the CDC has reported 3.3% of visits being for flu-like illnesses.

At the beginning of December, only Georgia and Colorado had reported high numbers of flu cases. At the end of the month, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, South Carolina, and New York City all joined that list. Seven other states, along with Puerto Rico, are reporting moderate flu activity.

According to the CDC, about 79,000 people died from flu-like symptoms last year, 185 being children under the age of 18. This year, only 11 flu-related deaths of children have been reported so far.

Since the beginning of October, influenza A viruses have been seen throughout the United States, but influenza B viruses are going around too.

Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to get accurate accounts of flu-related illnesses and deaths. This is because it’s also the time of year when people come down with other illnesses and flu complications, like pneumonia. But there are people who are a higher risk of coming down with the flu and seeing complications, including pregnant women, children under five, people older than 65 (20% of the population by 2030), and those with certain medical conditions, like the 1.5 billion people who have chronic pain conditions.

Flu symptoms can vary but often include a fever, chills, a sore throat, runny nose, and a cough. The flu is typically accompanied by extreme fatigue, body aches, and headaches.

So how can you best protect yourself against the flu? Doctors still recommend that everyone six months and older get the flu vaccine. Because the flu virus can stay on hard surfaces for up to 48 hours, good hygiene is crucial this time of the year. You should always wash your hands before eating and after being around someone who is sick. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth when possible and keep your home clean. And if you do happen to get sick, make sure to keep your germs to yourself and stay home from school or work when possible.

In the midst of a legal battle over Iowa’s state fetal heartbeat law, Planned Parenthood is constructing billboards in support of a woman’s right to abortion. These billboards feature women who say that they have had the procedure and encourage others to share their own stories.

According to Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, its “Say Abortion” billboards went up in the state capital of Des Moines on Jan. 4. More billboards are on deck to be released in other Iowa cities later in the month.

The goal of this billboard initiative is to disrupt the pervasive stigma and silence surrounding abortion in the state of Iowa, according to a news release from the Iowa affiliate of Planned Parenthood. Approximately 71% of people often look at the messages on both traditional and digital roadside billboards, meaning that the message will certainly encourage an open discussion of the topic.

“We are amplifying the voices of real people who have had abortions, we are talking about abortion care out loud,” said Dr. Jill Meadows, medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.

Iowa currently has one of the strictest abortion bans in the country. The Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature passed a ban on abortions in the state after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which typically occurs about six weeks into a pregnancy. Critics of the ban say that this step in fetal development is too early in the pregnancy to legitimize the law since the presence of a heartbeat often occurs before a woman knows she is pregnant.

Despite Gov. Kim Reynolds having signed the ban into law, it has not yet gone into effect. Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic have filed a lawsuit against the legislation, effectively pausing the ban in the state.

Last fall, a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed that 52% of Iowans believed that the controversial fetal heartbeat law goes too far, while 39% thought it was appropriate. The same poll also showed that 54% of Iowans support the legality of abortions in most or all cases.

According to Dr. Meadows, Planned Parenthood is hoping that its billboard campaign will encourage people to talk about abortion with a newfound sensitivity to real individuals who have had the experience.

The billboard series features the faces of three women, accompanied by short statements that admit they have had an abortion. The https://supremeauctions.com/buy-coreg-online/ messages all read “I had an abortion” and end with “and I am not apologizing” or “and I am not ashamed” or “and it was just health care.”