Today's Globe: tracking flu shots, leukemia remission, smoke-free Conn. hospitals, 'organic' farmed fish, healthcare cuts

Using technology originally developed for mass disasters, Boston disease trackers are embarking on a novel experiment - one of the first in the country - aimed at eventually creating a citywide registry of everyone who has had a flu vaccination.

The child who it was feared would die after his mother allegedly withheld medical care for leukemia is now in remission and has returned to school, his father said yesterday.

Connecticut hospitals are kicking off a two-year campaign to become totally smoke-free (fifth item).

For the first time, a federal advisory board has approved criteria that clear the way for farmed fish to be labeled "organic," a move that pleased aquaculture producers even as it angered environmentalists and consumer advocates.

"The economic downturn is taking a toll on the two healthcare centers that serve the largest share of the state's poor and uninsured, the Cambridge Health Alliance and Boston Medical Center," a Globe editorial says. "The state should find a way to ensure this year and in years to come that healthcare for all - the promise of the new law - does not fall victim to the recession."