Americans are buying cold and flu medicine faster than they did a year ago, but the federal government's main flu tracker still rates national activity as low. Walgreens data reported by Good Morning America show purchases of cold and flu medicines up 21.7% from the same point last year, while cough drop purchases are up 16.6%.
The latest CDC FluView report, covering the week ending Oct. 3, says seasonal flu activity is increasing in many parts of the country but remains low. Activity has been climbing on several measures since late August or early September.
