The top health stories of 2009, from the Harvard Health Letter
Each year, editors of the Harvard Health Letter, in consultation with the doctors on its editorial board, choose the top 10 health stories of the year. Here are four of the items on the list for 2009:
H1N1 flu: Most of the news about this year’s H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic has been reassuring. While the H1N1 virus spreads easily and makes people sick, so far it’s rarely life-threatening. A major reason for the calm has been the measured public health response. Plenty of information has been made available, and health officials gave us simple, concrete things to do to protect ourselves. A vaccine was developed and put into production, although shortages are a serious concern. We have months of flu season ahead of us and much could go wrong, but early indications show that this pandemic will stay manageable.
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