"Medical experts have worried about this season because it has been dominated by a kind of flu virus, called A H3N2, that historically causes the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. Even more concerning, about 90% of the H3N2 infections analyzed this season were a new strain that differs from the version accounted for in this year's flu shots."
"So far this season, there have been at least 18 million flu illnesses and 230,000 hospitalizations, according to the CDC. The agency also estimates there have been 9,300 deaths from flu so far, including at least 32 children. For those children whose vaccination status is known, 90% were not fully vaccinated against flu."
"Second surges in flu activity often occur after the winter holidays. We've had other seasons where we've had a peak, it's gone down, but we've nonetheless had a prolonged season, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Most of us are crossing our fingers, he added. But I don't think we can rely on the concept that flu is abating very early this year."
CDC data show two straight weeks of declining U.S. flu activity, with a large drop in hospitalizations and a smaller but notable decrease in medical visits for flu-like illness. The number of states reporting high flu activity fell from 44 to 36. COVID-19 and RSV did not produce large surges during the same period, and the CDC characterizes the respiratory virus season as moderate. The season has been dominated by A H3N2, with about 90% of analyzed H3N2 infections from a new strain not matched by this season's vaccine. To date there are at least 18 million illnesses, 230,000 hospitalizations, and an estimated 9,300 deaths, including 32 children, most of whom were not fully vaccinated when status was known.
Read at www.bostonherald.com
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