Health and Me

Ishita Roy

Flu A Is Ramping Up, Experts Warn That It Could Cause Widespread Disease

Flu A, or the new version of the flu virus called H3N2 is spreading quickly, the worst part is that fewer people are getting the flu shots. Doctors and scientists say that this year's influenza season could be tougher than the usual. Dr. Amanda Kravitz, a pediatrician at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York in an interview to CBS Mornings, said, "This flu season is no joke. We are seeing more cases than we would expect for this time of year. We are seeing influenza A, and within influenza A we are seeing a subtype or variant called H3N2."

Scientist Jesse Bloom, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who studies viral evolution said that "it is pretty likely to be an H3N2-dominated flu season. I don't see any reason to think that this is an unprecedentedly bad one, but current indicators are that it may be substantially more severe than the typical winter flu season," as reported by CBS News. 

Not just the UK, but as per the journal of the British Medical Association, even the United Kingdom is suffering from an early and severe fly season, all thanks to the influenza A H3N2 called subclade K. Neil Maniar, director of the master of public health program at Northeastern University said, "The United Kingdom got hit pretty hard by this," as well as Europe and Australia. "I think that's a pretty good harbinger of what we are likely to see here. This is going to be a very difficult flu season."

Experts are pointing out that while the vaccine may not be a good match for the updated flu virus circulating, it is still the best line of defense. Flu vaccines have an efficacy rate of 40% to 60%, however, as per as early report by Eurosurveillance, the efficacy of the current vaccine rate was between 32% to 39% in adults, and 72% to 75% in children. However, it is still important to get the vaccine to avoid any severe illness from the flu virus, point out experts.

"If you haven’t done so, get (the vaccine)," Maniar pointed out. “Definitely get it as we go into the holidays, as we go into new year’s and the new school year." It takes about two weeks to build up a solid immune response, however, within several days of getting the vaccine, people start to develop some immunity.

Read: <a href="https://www.healthandme.com/health-news/flu-cases-in-us-reach-5-million-mark-reveals-cdc-data-article-153328584" data-type="tilCustomLink">Flu Cases In US Reach 5 Million Mark, Reveals CDC Data</a>

Dr Helen Chu, a flu expert at the University of Washington told the CBS News that based on the UK and Japan data, there will be more cases of hospitalization by this flu. The flu activity is "starting everywhere right now" and would be overlapping with RSV, before the winter COVID-19 wave. 

Trevor Bedford, who also studies viral evolution at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, said H3N2 tends to evolve faster than other influenza strains. "I expect more H3 incidence than the typical year and poorer vaccine effectiveness," he said. 

"Total season effectiveness is probably going to actually be much, much lower," Chu warned, because immunity fades over time.

However, despite the mismatch in the vaccine, experts stress the fact that the flu vaccine is still helping preventing severe illness, especially in children. They also help in preventing severe diseases, hospitalization and deaths.

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Flu A, or the new version of the flu virus called H3N2 is spreading quickly, the worst part is that fewer people are getting the flu shots. Doctors and scientists say that this year's influenza season could be tougher than the usual. Dr. Amanda Kravitz, a pediatrician at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York in an interview to CBS Mornings, said, "This flu season is no joke. We are seeing more cases than we would expect for this time of year. We are seeing influenza A, and within influenza A we are seeing a subtype or variant called H3N2."Scientist Jesse Bloom, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who studies viral evolution said that "it is pretty likely to be an H3N2-dominated flu season. I don't see any reason to think that this is an unprecedentedly bad one, but current indicators are that it may be substantially more severe than the typical winter flu season," as reported by CBS News. Not just the UK, but as per the journal of the British Medical Association, even the United Kingdom is suffering from an early and severe fly season, all thanks to the influenza A H3N2 called subclade K. Neil Maniar, director of the master of public health program at Northeastern University said, "The United Kingdom got hit pretty hard by this," as well as Europe and Australia. "I think that's a pretty good harbinger of what we are likely to see here. This is going to be a very difficult flu season."Experts are pointing out that while the vaccine may not be a good match for the updated flu virus circulating, it is still the best line of defense. Flu vaccines have an efficacy rate of 40% to 60%, however, as per as early report by Eurosurveillance, the efficacy of the current vaccine rate was between 32% to 39% in adults, and 72% to 75% in children. However, it is still important to get the vaccine to avoid any severe illness from the flu virus, point out experts. "If you haven’t done so, get (the vaccine)," Maniar pointed out. “Definitely get it as we go into the holidays, as we go into new year’s and the new school year." It takes about two weeks to build up a solid immune response, however, within several days of getting the vaccine, people start to develop some immunity.Read: Flu Cases In US Reach 5 Million Mark, Reveals CDC Data The Virus Is ChangingDr Helen Chu, a flu expert at the University of Washington told the CBS News that based on the UK and Japan data, there will be more cases of hospitalization by this flu. The flu activity is "starting everywhere right now" and would be overlapping with RSV, before the winter COVID-19 wave. Trevor Bedford, who also studies viral evolution at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, said H3N2 tends to evolve faster than other influenza strains. "I expect more H3 incidence than the typical year and poorer vaccine effectiveness," he said. "Total season effectiveness is probably going to actually be much, much lower," Chu warned, because immunity fades over time.However, despite the mismatch in the vaccine, experts stress the fact that the flu vaccine is still helping preventing severe illness, especially in children. They also help in preventing severe diseases, hospitalization and deaths.