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Hospitals Bracing for a Potentially Severe Influenza Season in a Post-COVID Era
With a potentially challenging flu season ahead , I urge everyone to protect themselves and their families from flu and its potentially serious complications .”
— Rochelle P . Walensky , MD , MPH
By Kelly M . Pyrek
Following a mild flu season in 2021-2022 , due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic , public health experts and hospital epidemiologists are cautioning against complacency regarding a potentially severe influenza season for 2022-23 . Last month , the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases ( NFID ) warned that despite an aggressive respiratory season ahead , about half of all U . S . adults plan to get a flu vaccine during the upcoming flu season .
CDC director Rochelle P . Walensky , MD , MPH , is encouraging the public to prioritize vaccination . In a statement , Walensky noted , “ Last flu season , 49 percent of adults received their flu vaccine — with adults aged 65 years and older leading in flu vaccine coverage ,” she said , citing new CDC data . “ With a potentially challenging flu season ahead , I urge everyone to protect themselves and their families from flu and its potentially serious complications . Schedule your flu vaccine today .”
According to the NFID survey , 69 percent of U . S . adults recognize that annual flu vaccination is the best preventive measure against flu-related hospitalization and death . Furthermore , 58 percent of U . S . adults surveyed report that they will wear a mask at least sometimes during flu season , a preventive behavior that represents a major change compared to pre-pandemic flu seasons .
“ Based on what we have seen in parts of the Southern Hemisphere , flu has the potential to hit us hard this year ,” says NFID ’ s medical director William Schaffner , MD .
David Cennimo , MD , an infectious disease expert at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School , says there are lessons to be learned from last year ’ s flu season .
“ According to the CDC , the 2021-2022 flu season was mild and driven by A ( H3N2 ), a strain that was covered in last year ’ s vaccination and is being included in 2022-2023 vaccines . The CDC ’ s preliminary figures from last season show 8 million to 13 million flu illnesses , 82,000 to 170,000 flu hospitalizations and 5,000 to 14,000 flu deaths . However , as precautions loosen , we are seeing rates rise . Pediatric deaths , for example , rose from one death in the 2020-2021 season to 33 this past season . In comparison , 199 children died from influenza in the 2019-20 flu season .”
As we know , influenza activity in the Southern Hemisphere can be an indicator of what the Northern Hemisphere may experience relating to the severity of flu season in the U . S . Australia is coming off a short but brutal influenza season , its worst of the COVID pandemic era , some experts are saying . This year , Australia ’ s flu season was shorter than normal , but cases peaked earlier and much higher , and more children and teens contracted the flu virus . Last year ,