Health Report

THE GOOD NEWS

-- Flu shots really are worth the fuss and bother. A three-year study of people ages 45 and older who live in the Canadian province of Manitoba found that without the vaccine, the number of hospital admissions for influenza and pneumonia would have been 40% higher.

-- Ever since the AIDS virus was first isolated in 1983, scientists have been trying to determine which receptor on the surface of healthy immune cells is used by the virus to infect the cells. By blocking the receptor, researchers might be able to prevent the illness from taking hold. One such receptor, called CD4, has already been identified, and now biologists in France have reported evidence suggesting that they have found a second, CD26, which the virus must use in conjunction with the first.

THE BAD NEWS

-- Even though the Marlboro man has been off the air for years, more characters on television are smoking than ever before. According to a study of 158 prime-time comedies and dramas, nearly a fourth of the programs featured smoking, ashtrays or smoke-filled rooms. Public health officials fear that impressionable young viewers may emulate their video heroes' nicotine habits.

-- Environmental and medical groups charge that federal air-pollution laws do not take into account the fact that children are more susceptible to air pollution than adults. Explanation: children spend more time out of doors, absorb more pollutants into their small bodies, and have more trouble expelling foreign particles from their less-developed lungs.