US sees spike in flu cases in December, after most severe season since 2018 | Flu
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the United States saw the number of flu cases increase significantly in December, following the most severe flu season since 2018.
It’s not yet clear whether there will be an increase in the total number of people contracting the flu this season or whether more people will get the flu at the same time in December, but more than 3,100 people have died from the virus in the U.S. in the year ending August 2025. latest data From the CDC.
Therefore, people who have not yet received the flu vaccine should still get it. Jennifer NuzzoEpidemiologist at Brown University.
“The bottom line is that if people have not been vaccinated against the flu, they should get vaccinated, especially young children and older adults,” Nuzzo said.
The increase in cases follows the 2024-2025 flu season, which will be the most severe since 2018. CDC. This also included 279 flu-related pediatric deaths, the highest number reported to the institution during the seasonal flu epidemic.
A new variant, subclade K, emerged this year and the flu season in Europe started earlier than usual, with “high or very high influenza activity” in the region in December.
There were an estimated 7.5 million cases of influenza in the United States as of December 20, and 81,000 people were hospitalized. This marked a 25% increase in cases from the previous week, according to the CDC.
Thirty-two states You may have seen “high or very high” numbers of flu illnesses.
“A lot of people get the flu at the same time, and that’s always a difficult situation. It’s actually harder than a situation where people get the flu and the flu spreads over a longer period of time,” Nuzzo said. “It could be a worse season because more people will need more care than hospitals can easily provide.”
Epidemiologists are also concerned that fewer people may choose to get a flu vaccine because the CDC, led by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, has canceled it. campaign encouraging people to get vaccinated. By early December, nearly 130 million flu vaccines had been distributed in the United States; this was 13 million fewer than at the same point last year. According to HKM.
“After having the worst flu season on record for children, with signs that it could be bad based on the viruses going around, I simply don’t believe we can go into this flu season with anything other than a solid plan to encourage people to get vaccinated,” Nuzzo said.
Some U.S. residents may also be concerned about how much protection the new round of vaccines provides against the latest variant.
“We have some reason to think that protection might be lower, but I want to be careful in saying that,” Nuzzo said. “It may protect you less, but it’s still likely to give you significant protection.”
Nuzzo said people may not realize they can get a test at home from a pharmacy.
“There are some people who are treated with medication if their test results are positive, but this medication needs to be given immediately after symptoms begin,” Nuzzo said.
