Flu season not over, but lessons emerging

[Star Tribune, January 03, 2010] The pandemic of 2009 wasn't as bad as health officials feared, but it hit the young harder and may be only in a lull.

On Kris Ehresmann's 2009 calendar, April 23 is marked with two events: "Get haircut. Pandemic begins."

That was the day Ehresmann, head of Minnesota's state vaccine program, learned that the nation's first cases of H1N1 flu had surfaced in California and Texas.

As she headed out the door that day, all she can remember thinking is: "Oh please, let this not be what I think it is."

This overview of the H1N1 outbreak of 2009 includes the story of an Allina patient at United Hospital. To read the entire story, go to the Star Tribune's website.