For many families, getting the flu is more than just annoyance?it?s devastating. The flu can hit young children, seniors and those with compromised immune systems especially hard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported earlier this month that 22.7 out of every 100,000 people in the US were being hospitalized for the flu and, in the 2017-2018 flu season so far, 20 children have died from influenza in the US. It’s tragic and it’s being called an exceptionally bad flu season, but, sadly, this is not altogether unusual. In fact, to find a worse season, you only have to go back as far as 2014-2015.
Though the outbreak has been labelled an epidemic since November, the CDC says it?s typical for any flu season to be labelled an epidemic. What sets this year?s flu apart is that it has been widespread throughout the continental United States. ?The simplest way to describe it is that flu is everywhere in the U.S. right now,? says Dan Jernigam, director of the influenza division in CDC?s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The CDC also says the prominent strain of flu has been more severe. H3N2, which is a type of influenza A, is often linked to worse illness, which can be especially dangerous for kids and the elderly, and it?s known to be a difficult strain to vaccinate against.
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