Early signs point to what’s likely to be an active flu season this winter, and health officials say now is the time to get a flu shot ahead of planned holiday travel and gatherings.
Flu season typically kicks off in November and peaks between December and February before tapering off in the spring. Data from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that an increasing number of patients are testing positive for flu, with emergency room visits and hospitalizations also ticking upward. Other respiratory viruses, including COVID-19 and RSV are also on the rise.
People who catch the flu often experience symptoms such as fever, sore throat, runny nose and body aches, and recover without experiencing serious complications. But complications do happen, especially among older adults and people with other underlying comorbidities, and can lead to hospitalization. Flu is estimated to contribute to tens of thousands of U.S. deaths each year.
“It is something I do see,” said Dr. Katie Theoktisto, an infectious disease physician with Baylor Scott & White Health. “Complications can be pretty severe. People can end up on ventilators.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent flu surveillance reports, H3N2 — a subtype of influenza A — is the most common flu circulating this year. That’s in line with flu activity in the United Kingdom, where flu season typically begins earlier than the U.S., offering health experts here an idea of what to expect in the weeks and months ahead.
The specific strain of H3N2 that’s circulating in the U.K. is a new variant known as “subclade K.”
“That strain is of particular concern because it seems to be spreading a little bit more easily and causing more severe illness, so it’s something to be aware of,” Theoktisto said.
New variants of flu can also be more adept at evading vaccine protections. Theoktisto said this year's shot may not be a "perfect match" for subclade K. However, early research from the U.K. shows that this year’s flu vaccine formulation is still doing a decent job of preventing severe illness and hospitalizations from the virus, especially among children and adolescents.
"Even with mismatches in strain to vaccines, the vaccines will provide some benefit and some protection, and they should still keep you out of the hospital," Theoktisto said.
Dr. Jazmin Gonzalez, a pediatrician with Austin Regional Clinic, said ahead of Thanksgiving that she was already seeing rising flu rates among kids. Early in her career, before joining ARC, Gonzalez had the experience of treating two children who died after contracting influenza. She said that motivates her to inform parents about the potential risks — and encourage them to get their kids flu shots.
“It seems crazy to think that in this day and age, someone could die from a virus that doesn't seem so bad for the majority of people, but unfortunately, it does still happen,” Gonzalez said. “And so I do share with parents those experiences, and I tell them honestly, you know, ‘This is what I have seen, and that's what I don't want to see for your kiddos.’”
Gonzalez is also seeing an uptick in other pediatric illnesses, including RSV and hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and is monitoring rising levels of whooping cough at the local and state level. She is encouraging families to get up to date on other vaccines — like the TDaP vaccine, which protects against whooping cough.
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