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In what comes across as the worst flu season in the United States in recent times, at least 24 million people have contracted the infection, and that number continues to rise, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC database shows that nearly eight per cent of US outpatient medical visits recorded during the week ending 1 February were related to respiratory illnesses, including flu.
This is among the highest percentages documented by the CDC over the last two decades. So far, 45 American states and territories are currently experiencing “high” or “very high” flu activity, the CDC reports.
At present, at least 43 states and the District of Columbia (Washington DC) are reporting “very high” or “high” levels of influenza-like illness activity, based on the CDC’s latest data. The South, Southeast and Midwest are being particularly hard hit.
Low vaccination rates may also be contributing to this year’s severe flu season. As of late January, US vaccine uptake was well below the CDC’s target of 70 per cent coverage, with only about 44 per cent of US adults and children vaccinated.
This is on par with recent seasons for adults but lower than usual for children.
According to health experts cited by the American press, it is too early to say exactly how effective the vaccines are in the US.
However, the CDC recently published data from the Southern Hemisphere— which experiences an earlier flu season than the Northern Hemisphere and is often used as a predictor of what’s to come — suggesting that this season’s vaccines offer only modest protection.
In five South American countries, the vaccines reduced the risk of flu-related hospitalisations by about 35 per cent among high-risk groups, including young children, older adults, and people with underlying health conditions, according to the data.
If that figure holds true for the Northern Hemisphere, it would be considered “a bad year” for vaccine efficacy, Dr Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health in New York was quoted in a news report.
An estimated 310,000 people in the US have already been hospitalised with flu this season, and at least 13,000 people — including 57 children — have died, the CDC mentions on its website.
In contrast, COVID-19 has resulted in relatively few cases and hospitalisations compared to recent years.
This is likely because many people have residual immunity after falling ill during the prolonged summer surge in the US, Caitlin Rivers, director of the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health told reporters.
“We also haven’t seen any new, game-changing variants in a while,” Rivers added.
The American health authorities, including the CDC, have urged Americans to wear masks and limit travel in order to contain the fast spreading outbreak.