A Nasty Flu Season is Upon Us

Dear Readers,

Short post this week as I’ve been feeling under the weather. It started with a little bit of sneezing this weekend. By Monday, I had a sore throat and a runny nose, and Tuesday I spiked a fever with other flu-like symptoms. A rapid covid test at home was negative, but I didn’t go to urgent care for a flu test because I already missed the window for antivirals.

Not wanting to repeat the events of last summer, I cleared my calendar for the week and stayed home, resting and pushing fluids and OTC meds. Luckily, today I’m feeling a bit better and hope to be back to normal tomorrow or Saturday.

What upper respiratory bug got me will remain a mystery, but based on the fever, duration, recent holiday travel, and national trends, it was probably the flu. You can find a handy chart comparing the typical signs of flu, colds, and covid from the Cleveland Clinic here. Many of my friends, especially those with young kids, have come down with the same symptoms over the past few weeks. Like last year, we’re facing another bad influenza season across the country, as you can see in this figure from Your Local Epidemiologist:

The strain of flu that is predominantly circulating this year is not the typical H1N1 virus (nor is it in any way related to H5N1 avian influenza). Rather, it’s influenza H3N2. You can read more about what makes it different from virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen:

While this subtype (with its recent mutations) appears to be less well-matched to the seasonal flu shot, the vaccine still offers good protection against hospitalization and death. This is important because H3N2 is generally more severe than H1N1 (but no, it’s not a “super flu” as scaremongers on the news have dubbed it 🙄). Unfortunately, flu vaccination rates have been plummeting since the pandemic, in large part due to misinformation on social media and even coming from the current CDC (sigh).

Whatever virus got me down this week, I’m glad I got vaccinated for both flu and covid this fall. There’s a good chance I’d be a lot sicker for longer without them. Remember that flu season runs through May in the Northern Hemisphere, so if you haven’t gotten your boosters this year, it’s not too late! And if you’re older, I would talk to your doctor about the pneumococcal and shingles1 vaccines, too.

Stay warm and healthy, everyone!

—Eric