The Flu in the News: Current Events in Your Homeschool

Hot Chocolate and Current Events is Silverdale Press’s weekly initiative to help parents talk to their kids about what’s going on in the world. 

It seems like everyone’s talking about the flu these days. We hope you don’t have the flu, but it's this week’s topic!  

Read the following article from the KidsPost. At the bottom of the page, there are some other interesting articles about the flu you can explore. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/researchers-hope-to-find-stronger-flu-shots/2018/01/17/50508e98-f176-11e7-b3bf-ab90a706e175_story.html?utm_term=.477324fca38a

Also, this article from the Mercury News has a neat map and video:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/16/watch-how-the-flu-became-an-epidemic/

• Have you ever had the flu? How did you feel? 
• How do you think the people who had the flu in 1918 felt? 
• What are some of the problems with today’s flu vaccines?
• Why do you think scientists are hunting for a “super shot”?
• Though the article doesn’t tell us much about it, what do you think of this planned “super shot”?
• If the flu virus is constantly changing, should scientists even bother working on a better flu shot?
• Are today’s flu vaccines effective enough (at between 20-60 percent in the last several years)?
• What do you think about the nation chasing animal flu strains?  
• Will you get a flu shot? Why or why not? 

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