Flu cases are rising with a strain that makes older people sicker

Cases of influenza in the United States are rising, driven by a new strain that public health officials worry current vaccines may not protect against as effectively.

Health officials and researchers say that although the flu season has not reached its peak, the spike in cases is not historically unusual - and they stress vaccines probably still offer protection against the worst effects of the strain.

The number of hospitalizations, emergency room and outpatient visits, and deaths associated with the flu have shot up, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although the U.S. isn’t likely to reach peak until early in the year, possibly February.

“It seems to be a bit of a swift increase, but it’s not atypical,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. “We often see flu seasons come in sort of fast and furious.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/flu-cases-rising-strain-makes-174145045.html