Fox News Digital – This year’s flu season is already raising alarms among public health officials and infectious disease experts.
According to the BBC, the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) has issued an “SOS” warning amid growing concern that this winter could bring one of the most severe influenza waves in recent memory.
“This flu season is going to be unusually bad,” Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, told Fox News Digital. “Britain is getting hit earlier and harder, with cases triple compared to last year.”
Australia reportedly experienced its worst-ever flu season in 2024, a pattern that has often foreshadowed what’s to come in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the United States, early indicators point in that same direction.
Australia reportedly experienced its worst-ever flu season in 2024, a pattern that has often foreshadowed what’s to come in the Northern Hemisphere. (iStock)
Dr. Ravi Jhaveri, professor of pediatrics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and division head of pediatric infectious diseases at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said “there are signs of early flu activity in segments of the country,” adding that vaccination rates have continued to fall since the pandemic.
That combination could mean a difficult season ahead, the expert told Fox News Digital, particularly because there appears to be more of the H3N2 strain right now, which can be associated with lower effectiveness of the flu vaccine.
“Meanwhile, the vaccines contain strains that are multiple years out of date,” Glanville cautioned. “They contain a mix of a 2021 strain, a 2022 strain and a 2023 strain. This means the flu shots are mismatched to the virus.”
The current strain also has a history of producing more severe illnesses and higher hospitalization rates, according to the doctor. Meanwhile, the virus continues to mutate, making it harder for immune systems to recognize …
