Severe flu season expected, with early spread raising health alarms
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This year’s flu season is already raising alarm among public health officials and infectious disease experts.
According to the BBC, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) has issued an “SOS” alert amid growing concerns that this winter could bring one of the most severe flu waves in recent memory.
CEO of San Francisco biotechnology company Centivax, Dr. “This flu season is going to be unusually bad,” Jacob Glanville told Fox News Digital. “England is being hit earlier and harder, with three times the number of cases compared to last year.”
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Australia reportedly set to experience worst-ever flu season in 2024; It’s a pattern that often foreshadows what’s to come in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the United States, early indicators point in the same direction.
Australia reportedly set to experience worst-ever flu season in 2024; It’s a pattern that often foreshadows what’s to come in the Northern Hemisphere. (iStock)
D., professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “There are early signs of flu activity in some parts of the country,” Ravi Jhaveri said, adding that vaccination rates have continued to fall since the pandemic.
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The pundit told Fox News Digital that this combination could mean a tough season ahead; especially since more H3N2 strains are now present, which may be associated with lower effectiveness of the flu vaccine.
According to the BBC, England’s National Health Service (NHS) issued an “SOS” warning regarding this year’s flu season. (iStock)
“The vaccines, meanwhile, contain strains that became obsolete several years ago,” Glanville warned. “These include a mix of the 2021 strain, the 2022 strain and the 2023 strain. This means flu vaccines are incompatible with the virus.”
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The current strain also has a history of causing more serious illness and higher hospitalization rates, according to the doctor. Meanwhile, the virus continues to mutate, making it difficult for immune systems to recognize it.
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“The flu virus is constantly mutating in small amounts to evade our immune system,” Jhaveri said, noting that this is the main reason new vaccines are developed every year.
The virus appears to be spreading earlier than usual this year, and researchers aren’t exactly sure why.
The current strain of flu has a history of causing more severe illness and higher hospitalization rates. (Image alliance via Elisa Schu/Getty Images)
Jhaveri noted that the timing of the flu season may vary from season to season, but there may now be a change in the interaction of different respiratory viruses.
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“In the past, we would see flu start to emerge when circulation of RSV reached its peak,” he said. “Now that we have more prevention options against RSV, the overall respiratory virus pattern may have changed.”
Glanville emphasized that it is still recommended that people get vaccinated, but that protection will be “partial at best and worse than normal.”
“Now that we have more prevention options against RSV, the overall respiratory virus pattern may have changed.” (iStock)
Flu immunity may also be weaker this year. As Jhaveri notes, immunity “increases after vaccination and natural infection” but declines over time, especially in older adults.
Still, he said, based on Australia’s data, “we think the vaccine should offer the usual levels of protection.”
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High-risk people, including those with chronic conditions, weakened immune systems, or obesity, as well as pregnant women and young children, should be more careful.
Jhaveri stated that “Approximately half of the children who died due to flu and flu-related complications had no previous risk factors” and emphasized that vaccination is the “first step in protecting against flu.”
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For those hesitant to visit a clinic, the nasal spray vaccine was recently approved for self-administration or for parents and caregivers, allowing families to administer vaccinations at home, Jhaveri noted.
He added that Glanville’s company, Centivax, “has developed a universal flu vaccine and will begin human trials in early 2026.”
