The Flu's Back: Why This Winter is Making a Mark

This winter, flu cases are skyrocketing, making it one of the toughest flu seasons in over a decade. Reports from February show that 43 states are experiencing high to very high flu activity. Doctors are seeing a lot of flu-like illnesses, with nearly 8% of visits related to the flu. This is the highest since 2009 to 2010. The flu is a yearly problem, but this year's season has been especially tricky. This year, there are two main flu spikes. The first was in late December to early January, and the second is happening now. The flu can often be confused with other illnesses, like COVID-19, but COVID-19 cases are milder this year. So, people are mostly catching the flu. This has led to the highest hospitalization rate for flu since 2017-2018. The CDC reports that over 24 million Americans have been sickened, 310, 000 have been hospitalized, and around 13, 000, including 57 children, have died. People are getting sick from familiar strains of the flu virus. The most common strains are H1N1 and H3N2 from influenza A, and Victoria from influenza B. A few cases of a pig flu strain (H1N2) and bird flu (H5N1) have also been reported. But there's no evidence of it spreading from person to person. The flu is still around and could get worse. This is the time to get your flu vaccine if you haven't already. Only 45% of Americans have gotten theirs. Flu shots are a good way to cut down on flu infections and severe illness. This is a dead infection season - meaning the season has passed if you have not got the flu vaccine - still, it's the best way to protect yourself. Even though flu season usually lasts until May even if you haven't already.