590 KQNT News continues to report on flu activity escalating in Spokane County and around the Northwest. This week we learned it claimed the life of a female resident who was in her 80's. Eastern Washington's first flu related death.  There are over 30 influenza hospitalizations with Spokane County residents this season. You can go to our archives of the "Spokane Forum" section of www.590KQNT.com and hear from The Spokane Regional Health Dirstict which strongly encourages all of us six months and older to get a flu shot. It takes about 2 weeks after being vaccinated to be fully protected.  While Spokane's first lab confirmed flu case occurred in October, most of the time, local flu activity peaks in February or later.

Meanwhile, there could be a new flu vaccine available soon. Yesterday The Food and Drug Administration granted regulatory approval to a new type of vaccine developed by a Connecticut company called Protein Sciences.  Flublok is now expected to be available in limited supplies sometime this winter.  The reason it can be manufactured so quickly is that Flublok won't be made the same way as standard vaccines.  It does not have to be grown in chicken eggs.  A senior official with the FDA hailed it as a "technological advance in the manufacturing of an influenza vaccine."