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CDC To Announce New Nationwide Flu Stats Friday

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - We are in the middle of one of the worst flu seasons in more than a decade, and now government health officials are releasing their first estimates of how effective the flu vaccine has been so far this season.

Officials say the vaccine has been 36 percent effective in preventing severe illness.

When it comes to the flu strain, Influenza A, dominating this season, the CDC says the vaccine has been 25-percent effective in patients.

"It's stunning the amount of disease and yet we have not been completely adequate in protecting the population with a vaccine," said Dr. Anthony Fauci with the National Institutes of Health.

The CDC is expected to release the latest data on flu activity later Friday morning.

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