A serious flu season is expected; early spread triggers health alarms

This year’s flu season is already causing concern among public health officials and infectious disease experts.

According to the BBC, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has issued an ‘SOS’ warning amid growing fears this winter could bring one of the most severe waves of flu in recent memory.

“This flu season is going to be unusually bad,” Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, told Fox News Digital. “Britain is being hit earlier and harder, with cases tripling compared to last year.”

COMMON VIRUSES LINKED TO “DRAMATIC” INCREASE IN RISK OF HEART ATTACK AND STROKE

Australia would have experienced its worst flu season in 2024, a phenomenon that often foreshadows what will happen in the Northern Hemisphere.

In the United States, the first indicators point in the same direction.

Australia would have experienced its worst flu season in 2024, a phenomenon that often foreshadows what will happen in the Northern Hemisphere. (iStock)

Dr. Ravi Jhaveri, professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, said “there are signs of early influenza activity in some parts of the country,” adding that vaccination rates have continued to decline since the pandemic.

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GET THE FLU, ACCORDING TO DOCTORS

That combination could mean a tough season ahead, the expert told Fox News Digital, especially because there appears to be more of the H3N2 strain right now, which may be associated with lower flu vaccine effectiveness.

According to the BBC, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service has issued an “SOS” warning regarding this year’s flu season. (iStock)

“Meanwhile, vaccines contain strains that have been expired for several years,” Glanville warned. “They contain a mixture of a 2021 strain, a 2022 strain and a 2023 strain. This means the flu vaccines don’t match the virus.”

THE BEST TIME TO GET THE FLU VACCINE THIS FALL AS FLU SEASON APPROACHES

The current strain also has a history of producing more severe illness and higher hospitalization rates, according to the doctor. During this time, the virus continues to mutate, making it more difficult for the immune system to recognize it.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The flu virus is constantly mutating in small amounts to evade our immune system,” Jhaveri noted, which is the main reason new vaccines are developed every year.

The virus appears to be spreading earlier than usual this year, and researchers aren’t sure why.

The current strain of flu has a history of producing more severe illness and higher hospitalization rates. (Elisa Schu/photo alliance via Getty Images)

Jhaveri noted that while the timing of the flu season may vary from year to year, there could now be a change in how different respiratory viruses interact.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

“In the past, we saw flu start to appear when RSV was past its peak circulation,” he said. “Now that we have more RSV prevention options, the overall profile of the respiratory virus may have changed.”

It is still recommended that people get vaccinated, Glanville stressed, but protection will be “partial at best and worse than normal.”

“Now that we have more RSV prevention options, the overall profile of the respiratory virus may have changed.” (iStock)

Flu immunity may also be lower this year. As Jhaveri pointed out, immunity “increases after vaccination and natural infection” but declines over time, especially in older people.

Nonetheless, based on Australian data, “we believe the vaccine should provide usual levels of protection,” he said.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

People at high risk – including those with chronic illnesses, weakened immune systems or obesity, as well as pregnant women and young children – should exercise particular caution.

“About half of children who die from influenza or flu-related complications have no prior risk factors,” Jhaveri noted, emphasizing that vaccination remains “the first step in preventing influenza.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES

For those hesitant about going to a clinic, a nasal spray vaccine was recently approved, either for self-administration or for parents and caregivers, allowing families to vaccinate at home, Jhaveri noted.

Glanville’s company, Centivax, is “developing a universal influenza vaccine, with human trials beginning in early 2026,” he added.