Flu cases rise on west coast earlier than usual as US health experts encourage vaccine
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Flu cases on the west coast are on the rise months earlier than normal, prompting US health experts to stress the importance of the annual vaccine.
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Flu activity typically ramps up in December, hitting its peak in February. But this season has kicked into action earlier this year, with higher positive cases than normal recorded.
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Several experts have credited the early seasonal start to a new mutation of the influenza A strain H1N1, which was behind the 2009 swine flu pandemic.
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This strain has accounted for 242 of 300 influenza viruses reported by public health laboratories to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to date (CDC).
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In California, during the past two flu seasons, influenza test positivity hovered slightly above 1% in early October. As of 10 October, that rate is 9.65%, according to data from the state’s department of health.
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As of 11 October, Utah has recorded 242 influenza A cases, up from 10 cases this time last year, according to Germ Watch, an Intermountain Health database.
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Parts of central Oregon have also seen an influenza A surge.
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Influenza vaccines can reduce severe illness and hospitalization, according to the American Medical Association, which recommends flu shots for all people 6 months and older.
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The 2026-27 flu vaccines, approved by the FDA in August, target H1N1, H3N2 – the dominant strain last flu season – and one influenza B virus.
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Scott Hensley, a microbiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, said two of the three components of this year’s vaccine appear to be very well matched to circulating flu strains.
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However, the H1N1 mutation might affect antibodies in younger people, and with flu season picking up steam, “it is probably a good idea to get vaccinated early”, Hensley said via email.
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Promotion of flu shots has been reduced under US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has engineered an overhaul of long-standing childhood vaccine schedules.
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