The US flu season is underway, says the CDC. No strain seems to be dominant, and it’s too early to know how good a match the flu vaccine will be.
FILE – A sign for flu vaccination is displayed outside of a grocery store in Glenview, Ill., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted sharp increases in several measures, including lab tests and emergency room visits.
As of the week before Thanksgiving, just 1 in 10 Californians have received an updated COVID vaccine “It’s been increasing at a pretty steady pace now for the past several weeks. So yeah, we are certainly in flu season now,” said the CDC’s Alicia Budd. Thirteen states reported high or very high levels of flu-like illness last week, about double from the week before. One is Tennessee, where a sickness spike is hitting the Nashville area, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University. “Flu has been increasing, but just this last week has exploded,” Schaffner said. He noted that in a local clinic that serves as an indicator of illness trends, as many as a quarter of the patients have flu symptoms.“Just this week is really that turning point where people are out because of the flu,” said Dr. Catherine O’Neal, an infectious diseases doctor at the largest private hospital in the state, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. “You hear parents saying, ‘I can’t come to work because of the flu’ and ‘Where can I get a flu test?’” Of course, there are a number of bugs that cause fever, cough, sore throat and other flu-like symptoms. One is. Another is RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which is a common cause of cold-like symptoms but can be dangerous for infants and the elderly.show COVID-19 hospitalizations have been declining since summer. COVID-19 activity is moderate nationally, but high in the Midwest, according to CDC wastewater data. RSV hospitalizations started rising before flu did and now show signs of possibly leveling off, but they remain a little more common than admissions for flu. Overall, RSV activity is low nationally, but high in the South, the wastewater data show. The CDC called the start of flu season based on several indicators, include lab results for patients in hospitals and doctor’s offices, and the percentage of emergency department visits that had a discharge diagnosis of flu. No flu strain seems to be dominant, and it’s too early in the season to know how good a match the flu vaccine will be, Budd said. Last winter’s flu season was considered “moderate” overall, but it was long — 21 weeks — and the CDC estimated there were 28,000 flu-related deaths. It was unusually dangerous for children, with 205 pediatric deaths reported. That was the highest number ever reported for a conventional flu season. The long season was likely a factor, Budd said. Another factor was a lack of flu vaccinations. Among the children who died who were old enough for flu vaccinations — and for whom their vaccination status was known — 80% were not fully vaccinated, Vaccination rates for children are even lower this year. As of Dec. 7, about 41% of adults had received a flu vaccination, similar to the rate at the same point last year. The percentage is the same for kids, but for them that’s a drop from a year ago, when 44% were vaccinated against the flu, according toAs of the week before Thanksgiving, just 1 in 10 Californians have received an updated COVID vaccine Flu experts suggest everyone get vaccinated, especially as people prepare to attend holiday gatherings where respiratory viruses can spread widely. “All those gatherings that are so heartwarming and fun and joyous are also an opportunity for this virus to spread person to person,” Schaffner said. “It’s not too late to get vaccinated.”The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.Rickey Henderson, the greatest Oakland A's player of all time, has died at age 65Dear Abby: I'm so hurt by what my husband said about pregnant womenHarriette Cole: He called me privileged, and it really struck a nerveIs California living worth the costs and taxes?12 long-lived Bay Area restaurants we said goodbye to in 2024Conflicting images of Luigi Mangione create dual narratives of UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting suspect
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