This December, the US is experiencing one of the worst influenza outbreaks in years. It’s being reported that this flu season is the worst since 2018. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called the national rise in drug overdose deaths “extremely alarming.” Now, thirty-two states are sending in an indication of high or very high flu illness.
According to the CDC, the nation saw an estimated 7.5 million influenza cases as of December 20, 2024. This unprecedented increase in disease resulted in over 81,000 additional hospitalizations too. The agency already projected over 3,100 deaths due to the virus in the one-year period ending this August. It further unveiled a bleak record of 279 pediatric deaths thus far in this seasonal influenza epidemic. These are the alarming statistics that call for strengthened public health efforts, including vaccination.
One of the key advocates for vaccination has been Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University. She encouraged people who are not yet vaccinated against flu to get vaccinated as soon as possible. “Bottom line for people, if they haven’t gotten vaccinated against the flu, they should get vaccinated, particularly young kids and older adults,” Nuzzo stated.
For health experts this season, it was the arrival of a new variant that is worrying them most—subclade K. In Europe, influenza started climbing earlier than normal, establishing a pattern that could be followed here in the United States. In fact, Nuzzo tweeted recently that there’s been a 25% increase in overall flu cases just since last week. This increase has prompted questions about the course of the disease this season.
As of the second week of December, the U.S. had shipped out 130 million doses of flu vaccine, 13 million less than last winter. Nuzzo bemoaned the public’s lack of response to vaccination campaigns. “It’s completely incredulous to me that after experiencing the worst flu season for kids on record that we could head into this flu season – with signs that it could be bad… with anything but a robust plan to encourage people to get vaccinated,” she remarked.
“In addition to questions about vaccine uptake, Nuzzo handled concerns about the effectiveness of the current vaccine against viruses circulating today. ‘We have some reason to think that the protection may be lower, but I want to be careful by saying it may protect you less, but it’s likely still going to give you some important protection,’ she explained.”
Vaccination, according to Nuzzo, should be strongly encouraged. If you suspect you’ve got influenza, try at-home tests available from your neighborhood pharmacy. “There are some people who might benefit from medication if they tested positive, but that medication needs to be given very soon after symptoms start,” she added.