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Americans should brace themselves for a ‘serious’ flu outbreak this winter, one of the country’s top doctors has warned.
dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the country was “ripe” for a resurgence because it has low levels of immunity.
Influenza has been largely sidelined during the pandemic due to lockdowns and social restrictions, leaving Americans with little protection from the seasonal bug.
But there are signs that the flu is making a comeback as the latest data shows the number of cases has quadrupled in recent weeks — months before the virus normally strikes.
The flu season usually runs from late October to May, starting in December and peaking in February.
But the Southern Hemisphere — which is normally a precursor to the US — suffered an early and relentless winter surge earlier this year.
There are also concerns about flu vaccine uptake, as only 12 million Americans have received the shot so far.
dr. Walensky said: NBC News: ‘We have found that flu activity is starting to increase in much of the country.
‘Not everyone was vaccinated against the flu last year, and many people did not get the flu. So that makes us ready for a potentially tough flu season.’
The number of flu cases has risen since August, quadrupling from the week ending August 6 to the week ending October 1. Experts warn flu season will be more devastating than usual this year
Georgia, Washington DC, Texas and the Northern Mariana Islands all already have high flu rates, according to CDC data from the week ending Oct. 1.
CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky said America was “ripe” for a severe flu season as many people didn’t get the flu last year, putting them more at risk this winter
The latest official data shows that in the week ending October 1, there were more than 1,000 flu patients in the US — a 303% increase from the first week of August.
This is a huge underestimate because the US doesn’t routinely test for flu in the same way that Covid does.
Test positivity – the proportion of swabs for the virus that comes back positive – has risen from 0.49 percent to 2.5 percent in the same time.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Unified School District announced on Wednesday it was dealing with hundreds of absences from Patrick Henry High School in San Carlos, with 40 percent of students sick.
About 1,000 of the 2,600 students at the school had left with a sore throat, cough, congestion and fever.
The district said all Covid tests came back negative, but students tested positive for the flu.
The California province is now monitoring other local schools for similar outbreaks.
And it’s not just the flu that is on the rise.
The only children’s hospital in the region, Rady’s Children’s Hospital, has admitted about 250 children with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) infections.
Some cases have ended up as viral pneumonia – needing oxygen.
About 20 percent of children in the hospital’s intensive care units were admitted Wednesday due to severe breathing problems from RSV-related pneumonia.
Cases of RSV usually crop up in December and January, but in recent years, the RSV season has struck earlier, during the summer and early fall, possibly due to Covid lockdowns altering the spread of viruses.
And last week, New Yorkers were urged to get their flu shots “as soon as possible” as the state struggled with nearly four times as many cases as last year.
The New York Department of Health described the current outbreak as “early and aggressive” and warned it was showing no signs of slowing down.
There were 596 confirmed flu cases recorded in the week ending October 1 – compared to just 150 this time last year.
Both numbers are huge underestimates because flu is not routinely tested in the same way as Covid.
Experts fear the early wave of flu — which is also happening in Washington DC and several southern states — will trigger a “twin disease” this winter when Covid is expected to recover.
There has been hardly any flu in recent years after the virus was sidelined by the more contagious Covid virus and lockdowns also shut it out.
And Americans seem to be suffering from vaccine fatigue after the constant rollout of Covid shots.
There is no injection for RSV, but there is for the flu.
By the week ending Sept. 3, Texas, New Mexico and Delaware flu numbers had tipped to high levels, with the Northern Mariana Islands closely behind with moderate cases.
At the beginning of August, flu cases in the US were relatively stable. Washington DC was the only US area with moderate levels. New Mexico had low rates and the rest of the states had minimal cases
So far, about 12 million flu vaccines have been done by pharmacists and doctors.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises everyone six months and older to get a flu vaccine annually.
But fewer than half of American adults (49 percent) plan to get the flu shot, a survey finds.
This is despite the fact that more than 60 percent agree that the vaccine is the best way to protect against death and hospitalization.
1,005 American adults completed the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases survey in August this year.
41 percent said they were unsure or did not plan to get the shot during the upcoming flu season.
The most common reasons for not getting vaccinated include the idea that vaccines don’t work well and worrying about possible side effects.
Others said they never get the flu or worry about getting the flu from the vaccine.
And one in five Americans who are more at risk for complications from the flu said they won’t get the shot.