This year’s flu season is starting earlier and hitting harder than it has in almost a decade, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
“This is at least a month earlier than we would generally see the beginning of the uptick in cases,” said CDC director Thomas Frieden.
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The flu strains circulating in the United States this year, especially the N3N2 strain, tend to cause more severe disease as well, he said. The good news is that this year’s flu vaccine is a 90% match for the circulating strains. “So we’re particularly encouraging people who haven’t been vaccinated to do it,” he said.
One of the signals CDC uses to indicate the official start of flu season is when more than 2.2% of all visits to the doctor nationwide are for flu-like illnesses. In non-flu months such as the summer, about 1% of doctor visits are for flu-like illnesses. As of last week the nation had reached that 2.2% threshold, said Scott Epperson with CDCs Influenza division.
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So far approximately 112 million Americans have been vaccinated, and it’s expected that 135 million doses of vaccine will be produced total this year, so there shouldn’t be any vaccine shortages, said Frieden.
To keep you and others from getting the flu this year:
- Get vaccinated
- Wash your hands
- Cover your cough
- Stay home if you’re sick
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