Consumer Confidential: H1N1 shots still available, Ford and Microsoft linking cars and homes to energy companies, March job losses

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--If you haven’t had your H1N1 flu shot yet, it’s not too late to get vaccinated. After a recent increase in H1N1 hospital cases in Georgia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is making a renewed push to urge the public to get their shots, the Associated Press reported. Nationwide, H1N1 illnesses and deaths have been decreasing for months, but in the last two weeks 70 to 80 people in Georgia have been hospitalized with H1N1 -- the most since September, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health.

--Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. are working together to link electric cars to homes and utility companies to help manage energy use, endgadget.com reported. Dubbed ‘Microsoft Hohm,’ the system is managed by consumers online, where people can figure out when it is the best time of day to recharge their cars. The first Ford to get the Hohm treatment will the new all-electric Focus compact, which is slated to be introduced in late 2011. Hohm will also enable electricity providers to charge varying rates based on the time of day. Ideally, you could use the system to recharge your car during a time when rates would be at their lowest and the recharge would be the least amount of burden on the utility’s electrical grid.

--The U.S. lost 23,000 private-sector jobs in March, payroll firm ADP said Wednesday in a report that was much worse than analysts had projected. Investors had expected about 40,000 jobs to be created this month, according to the AFP. However, job losses in March are down slightly from last month, when 24,000 jobs were cut. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is releasing its monthly employment report on Friday.

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles