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Flu season's late peak helped

EVANSTON, Ill., June 23 (UPI) -- This year's flu season was as severe as last year's, not worse, probably because it peaked later, giving officials more time to get vaccine, a report said.

Initially, the U.S. government reported a major shortage of flu vaccine, causing long lines at hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices.

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Hospital operator Solucient LLC, headquartered in Evanston, Ill., said a flu season's severity is reflected in hospital admissions for community-acquired pneumonia or CAP, one of the common flu complications.

Using CAP discharge data from October 2002, through March 2005, the report said daily discharges peaked at an average of about 7,000 in January/February of this year, compared to 8,000 in the previous flu season's December 2003/January 2004 peak, the report said.

Both these seasons had approximately 31 percent more hospital discharges than the 2002-2003 flu season.

Due to the unusual shortage of flu vaccine, the later peak of the 2004-2005 flu season may have given public health officials more time to reallocate the limited vaccine supply, the report said.

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