The flu is rising rapidly across the U.S., driven by a new variant of the virus known as \u201csubclade K.\u201d This variant has led to early outbreaks in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada, and cases are expected to keep growing with holiday travel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported high or very high levels of illness in more than half the states as of December 20.<\/p>\n
The CDC estimated there have been at least 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations, and 3,100 deaths from flu so far this season. This includes at least eight child deaths and is based on data as of December 20, before major holiday gatherings. Some states are particularly hard-hit, with New York\u2019s health department reporting the week ending December 20 as the most flu cases the state had recorded in a single week since 2004, with 71,000 cases.<\/p>\n
The flu virus is a shape-shifter, constantly mutating, and it comes in multiple forms. There are two subtypes of Type A flu, and subclade K is a mutated version of one of them, named H3N2. This H3N2 strain is always harsh, especially for older adults. Subclade K\u2019s mutations aren\u2019t enough of a change to be considered an entirely new kind of flu.<\/p>\n
The CDC said it\u2019s too soon to know how severe this season will be. Flu seasons dominated by any version of H3N2 tend to be bad, with more infections overall and more people becoming seriously ill. However, it will take time to tease apart whether this subclade K version simply spreads more easily or is also more dangerous.<\/p>\n
The CDC and major medical societies all recommend a flu vaccine for just about everyone age 6 months and older. Despite lots of recent misinformation and confusion about vaccines, the flu recommendations haven\u2019t changed. Flu is particularly dangerous for people 65 and older, pregnant women, young children, and people of any age who have chronic health problems, including asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and weak immune systems.<\/p>\n
The vaccines are brewed to protect against three influenza strains. Despite concern over the new H3N2 variant, they appear to be a good match against H1N1 and Type B flu that may also circulate this year. There are shots for all ages, as well as the nasal spray FluMist for ages 2 to 49. For the first time this year, some people may be eligible to vaccinate themselves with FluMist at home. It\u2019s not too late to get a flu shot, which health experts say can still prevent severe illness even if someone gets infected. While this year\u2019s vaccine isn\u2019t a perfect match to the subclade K strain, a preliminary analysis from the U.K. found it offered at least partial protection, lowering people\u2019s risk of hospitalization.<\/p>\n
The flu season is upon us, and it\u2019s crucial to take preventive measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Getting vaccinated is the most effective way to prevent severe illness, and it\u2019s not too late to get a flu shot. With the new subclade K variant spreading rapidly, it\u2019s essential to stay informed and take necessary precautions to stay healthy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Flu is rising rapidly across the U.S., driven by a new variant of the virus \u2014 and cases are expected to keep growing with holiday travel.<\/p>\n That variant, known as \u201csubclade K,\u201d led to early outbreaks in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. In the U.S., flu typically begins its winter march in December. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported high or very high levels of illness in more than half the states.<\/p>\n The CDC estimated there have been at least 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths from flu so far this season. That includes at least eight child deaths \u2014 and is based on data as of Dec. 20, before major holiday gatherings.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Some states are particularly hard-hit. New York\u2019s health department said the week ending Dec. 20 marked the most flu cases the state had recorded in a single week since 2004: 71,000.<\/p>\n It\u2019s far too soon to know if this flu season will be as severe as last winter\u2019s.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not too late to get a flu shot, which health experts say can still prevent severe illness even if someone gets infected. While this year\u2019s vaccine isn\u2019t a perfect match to the subclade K strain, a preliminary analysis from the U.K. found it offered at least partial protection, lowering people\u2019s risk of hospitalization.<\/p>\n According to the CDC, only about 42% of adults and children have gotten a flu vaccination so far this year.<\/p>\n The flu virus is a shape-shifter, constantly mutating, and it comes in multiple forms. There are two subtypes of Type A flu, and subclade K is a mutated version of one of them, named H3N2. That H3N2 strain is always harsh, especially for older adults.<\/p>\n Subclade K\u2019s mutations aren\u2019t enough of a change to be considered an entirely new kind of flu.<\/p>\n But they\u2019re different enough to evade some of the protection from this year\u2019s vaccine, said Andrew Pekosz, a virus expert at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.<\/p>\n The CDC said it\u2019s too soon to know how severe this season will be.<\/p>\n Flu seasons dominated by any version of H3N2 tend to be bad, with more infections overall and more people becoming seriously ill. But Hopkins\u2019 Pekosz cautioned it will take time to tease apart whether this subclade K version simply spreads more easily or also is more dangerous.<\/p>\n That question aside, the CDC notes there are some prescription medicines to treat flu \u2014 usually recommended for people at high risk of complications. But they generally need to be started a day or two after symptoms begin.<\/p>\n The CDC and major medical societies all recommend a flu vaccine for just about everyone age 6 months and older. Despite lots of recent misinformation and confusion about vaccines, the flu recommendations haven\u2019t changed.<\/p>\n Flu is particularly dangerous for people 65 and older, pregnant women, young children and people of any age who have chronic health problems, including asthma, diabetes, heart disease and weak immune systems.<\/p>\n The vaccines are brewed to protect against three influenza strains. Despite concern over that new H3N2 variant, they appear to be a good match against H1N1 and Type B flu that may also circulate this year, Pekosz said.<\/p>\n There are shots for all ages, as well as the nasal spray FluMist for ages 2 to 49. For the first time this year, some people may be eligible to vaccinate themselves with FluMist at home.<\/p>\n The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Flu Season is Here: What You Need to Know Introduction to the Flu Season The flu is rising rapidly across the U.S., driven by a new variant of the virus known as \u201csubclade K.\u201d This variant has led to early outbreaks in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada, and cases are expected to keep growing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23993","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Flu-What_to_Know_11365.jpg?w=1400px&strip=all&w=1400&resize=1400,934&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23993"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23996,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23993\/revisions\/23996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is subclade K flu?<\/h4>\n
Will subclade K make people sicker?<\/h4>\n
Who needs a flu vaccine?<\/h4>\n