This is one of the worst flu seasonsin a decade. For the first time in thirteen years, the entire country is getting sick at the same time. While the government shutdown ended today, the two days of closure remind us what services could be lost when we most need them.
In light of prior budget cuts that are slowing efforts by the CDC, hospitals and public health departments to prepare for widespread outbreaks and the challenges caused by this season's influx of flu patients, there is concernover how a government shutdown could make things worse.
As the world learned in 1918, nothing can disrupt like a severe strain of flu.
Also this hour: Unprecedented numbers of women are running for elected office in 2018.
We also talk to a local business owner whose hottest item is a "Make America Quack Again" rubber duck. We'll explain.
GUESTS:
- Ulysses Wu - Chief of Infectious Disease at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center
- Lena Sun- Reports on health for the Washington Post
- Rebecca Traister- Writer-at-Large for New York Magazine and the author of All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation
- Sherri and Larry Athay - Co-owners with daughter Lauren of Truffle Shots and Essex Duck.
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.