This flu variant wasn’t in the vaccine for this season.
My coworker was sick from it over the entire holiday break.
Well, it was and it wasn't.
There's two strains of influenza A that are in circulation- H1N1 and H3N2. Both were in this year's shot. The shot has kept cases of H1N1 low. Unfortunately, there was a mutation of H3N2 (a new variant called subclade K) in Canada at the beginning of flu season. That variant crossed the border and hit Michigan and the border States pretty hard. The shot is only
partially effective against the new variant.
Most of the people that I've talked to who got their ass kicked by the flu this year didn't get their flu shot. Of those who did get their shot, either they haven't gotten sick or if they did, they were out for 4-5 days versus 4-10 days for people who didn't get their shot.
One statistic that caught my eye this in December: at the beginning of December, the CDC reported about 7,000 were hospitalized for the first week of December. By the end of December (after everyone got together for parties and holiday dinners), that number had jumped to 33,000 hospitalizations per week. In total, 120,000 people have ended up in the hospital. These numbers are the highest numbers we've seen compared to the past few years.
Another interesting thing: kids are really getting sick- about 1/2 of the patients showing up at doctor's offices and urgent cares are in school-age kids. That hints that the new variant is likely similar to an earlier variant that was in circulation before 2005. Some of the preliminary numbers on these kids is that the kids who got their shot were about 50% less likely to end up in the hospital, which hints that while the shot might not keep you from getting the flu this year, it may help prevent you from getting really sick.
This is the testing results for December. The dark yellow is H1N1 which has been kept low, likely by the flu shot covering that strain. That big dark red section is the H3N2 cases, which the shot had only partial coverage. Positive tests peaked around Christmas and are starting to come down. We could see another rebound with the colder weather, so if you didn't get your flu shot this year, you might want to get it now.
Wow, this current version of the flu knocked me right off my feet!
I'm on the road to recovery but I won't be online for awhile.
Stay strong and healthy everybody, and have a better New Year than I'm having.
This year's flu comes with higher fevers and some GI upset. Make sure you're drinking plenty of fluids and if you do have higher fevers, take anti-fever meds to keep your fever low.
Rest but try not to spend all day in bed if you can help it.
Keep us updated on how you're doing.
