{"688342":{"#nid":"688342","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Flu rates remain high in Georgia but show signs of easing after holidays","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFlu rates are still high in Georgia this month but appear to be dropping slightly as people resume regular schedules after the winter holidays.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVaccination remains the best way to protect against the flu, said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/mg-finn\u0022\u003EM.G. Finn\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor of biochemistry at Georgia Tech and an expert in viruses and immunology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinn said there is a gap between this year\u2019s vaccine and the variant of flu that is circulating widely, in part because scientists design the vaccine well in advance of the flu season. Still, the vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization by about 40%, he said, making it a valuable tool for protecting health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou want to bias the odds in your favor of not getting seriously ill if you happen to come across somebody who has the flu, and you want to minimize the chances of you passing it along to people around you,\u201d Finn said. \u201cIt\u2019s completely and utterly safe, so there is no risk whatsoever for taking it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFlu rates are still high in Georgia this month but appear to be dropping slightly as people resume regular schedules after the winter holidays.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EVaccination remains the best way to protect against the flu, said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/mg-finn\u0022\u003EM.G. Finn\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor of biochemistry at Georgia Tech and an expert in viruses and immunology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFinn said there is a gap between this year\u2019s vaccine and the variant of flu that is circulating widely, in part because scientists design the vaccine well in advance of the flu season. Still, the vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization by about 40%, he said, making it a valuable tool for protecting health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou want to bias the odds in your favor of not getting seriously ill if you happen to come across somebody who has the flu, and you want to minimize the chances of you passing it along to people around you,\u201d Finn said. \u201cIt\u2019s completely and utterly safe, so there is no risk whatsoever for taking it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"36583","created_gmt":"2026-02-17 20:46:50","changed_gmt":"2026-02-18 15:43:47","author":"lvidal7","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Healthbeat Atlanta","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.healthbeat.org\/atlanta\/2026\/01\/23\/georgia-flu-rates-high-but-declining-deaths\/","dateline":{"date":"2026-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2026-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"7360","name":"vaccination"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}