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Last fall some people in the know about influenza science got picky when it came time to get their flu shots. They didn’t want to roll up their sleeve for any old vaccine on offer at their doctor’s office or workplace clinic. They sought specific products, the ones licensed for older adults that contain a performance-boosting compound called an adjuvant or more notably one of the two brands of vaccine not made — as most flu vaccines are — in eggs. (Branswell, 2/6)

As doctors struggle with the worst flu season in nearly a decade, some are racing to answer a question: Can they find a more permanent solution than variably successful annual vaccines? Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have developed a new approach for a vaccine that tested successfully in animals. GlaxoSmithKline is in the early stages of testing another promising approach in people. (Reddy, 2/5)

A second child has died in New York City of flu-related illness, as the city and nation cope with the worst flu season in nearly a decade, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said on Monday. The child, an 8-year-old girl who lived in Elmhurst, Queens, was found unconscious at home on Monday morning and taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead, the police said. (Garcia, 2/5)

While some areas of the country are having a tough time getting flu-fighting medication, a CDC official said there is no nationwide shortage. A spokesman for Genentech, maker of the name-brand Tamiflu medication, agreed. (Joyner, 2/5)

Area hospitals are continuing to see high numbers of influenza patients, suggesting that the flu season has yet to peak. At the University of Kansas Health System, 913 patients have tested positive for the flu so far, 162 of them in the last week alone, according to spokeswoman Jill Chadwick. Seventeen patients currently remain hospitalized. (Margolies, 2/5)