As a syringe filled with this year's flu vaccine pierced my flesh this morning, I thought about how much things have changed since the flu vaccine shortage back in the fall of 2004. At that time, only people who were considered "high risk"--if they were elderly or had a chronic illness, for example--were encouraged to get the vaccine.
Four years later, there is no flu vaccine shortage in the United States. I've heard ads urging people to get the vaccine on the radio, and seen some on TV. Apparently, they're working: I decided to get the shot for the first time in years (and I'm not in any of the "high risk" groups), and the nurse that administered my flu vaccine told me tons of people have been coming in for the flu shot. I travel a lot and thought the vaccine would be a good idea "just in case"--but the ads I heard on the radio kept the idea of getting a flu shot at the forefront of my mind. So, it seems the ads have served their purpose: everyone wants to get vaccinated now, including me.
And, according to Google, people want to know about the flu, too. On November 11, Google launched Flu Trends, which allows users to see if their state has a low, moderate, or high threat of the flu virus based on how and when people search for information about the flu. Google's theory is that people who look for information about the flu online are likely suffering from the virus as well. Google points out, "Of course, not every person who searches for "flu" is actually sick, but a pattern emerges when all the flu-related search queries from each state and region are added together". According to CNN, the Google project was completed in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Depending on how you look at it, this factoid could be either alarming or reassuring: according to the CNN article mentioned above, "In the 2007-08 flu season, Google accurately estimated current flu levels one to two weeks faster than published CDC reports in each of the nine U.S. surveillance regions...". It's no surprise that a government agency can't compare to Google in terms of efficiency, but it's still a little surprising (and scary?) that this also applies to agencies that are entrusted with matters of public health.
