What You Need To Know About This Year's Flu Season

Jan 9, 2018
Originally published on January 9, 2018 8:44 pm


"It felt like somebody took a bat and beat my body up and down," said Holmes, 39, who works as a residential life director at California State University, Sacramento. "I couldn't get out of bed."




In California, the flu struck surprisingly early and hard this season. The state's higher temperatures typically mean people are not as confined to the indoors, leading to a later flu season compared with other regions. Health experts aren't sure why this season is different.

"We're seeing the worst of it right now," said Dr. Randy Bergen, a pediatrician who is leading Kaiser Permanente-Northern California's anti-flu effort. "We're really in historic territory, and I just don't know when it's going to stop." (Kaiser Health News, which produces California Healthline, is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.)

Here is what you should know about this flu season:

1. It's shaping up to be one of the worst in recent years



2. This season's flu vaccine is likely to be less effective than in previous years

U.S. flu experts say they won't fully know how effective this season's vaccine is until the end of the season. But Australia's experience suggests effectiveness was only about 10 percent. In the U.S., it is 40 percent to 60 percent effective in an average season. Vaccines are less protective if strains are different from what was predicted and if unexpected mutations occur.

3. You should get the flu shot anyway


"Some protection is better than no protection," Bergen said, "but it's certainly disappointing to have a vaccine that's just not as effective as we'd like it to be.







5. Don't mistake flu symptoms for those of a common cold


If you feel as if you're having trouble breathing or if your fever can't be controlled with medication like Tylenol, check with your doctor. It's even more important for patients to see a doctor if they have a chronic medical condition like diabetes or heart disease or if they are young or elderly.



