H3N2 Flu Surge Across the United States Nears Five Million Cases and Set to Accelerate
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Dec 22, 2025 2 hours, 8 minutes ago
Medical News: Influenza Cases Rise Rapidly Nationwide
Seasonal influenza is spreading aggressively across the United States, with public health authorities warning that the pace of infections is likely to intensify in the coming days. Newly released data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC, shows that flu activity is climbing steadily, pushing the nation closer to the five million case mark much earlier than many experts anticipated.
https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/activity-levels.html
Influenza infections are rapidly escalating across the United States as a new variant fuels early season spread
Several States Reporting Elevated Flu Activity
U.S. CDC surveillance indicates that flu-like illness is increasing across much of the country. New York City is currently reporting some of the highest levels of influenza activity nationwide. States including Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas are experiencing moderate levels of respiratory illness. All remaining states are still categorized as low or very low, though epidemiologists caution that this status may change rapidly.
Hospitalizations And Death Toll Continue to Climb
According to CDC estimates, there have already been at least 4.6 million flu illnesses this season, alongside approximately 49,000 hospitalizations and 1,900 deaths. Health officials stress that these numbers are preliminary and are expected to rise significantly as winter conditions intensify. Hospitals in several regions are beginning to report increased strain due to flu related complications.
New Influenza Variant Driving Current Wave
Laboratory testing reveals that the majority of cases are linked to influenza A H3N2, with nearly ninety percent of genetically analyzed samples belonging to a newly identified strain known as subclade K. Researchers report that mutations in this variant have resulted in a mismatch with this season’s flu vaccine composition, raising concerns about increased transmissibility.
Why Vaccination Still Matters
Despite the mismatch, “experts” claim that vaccination remains essential. Even when vaccines are not a perfect match, they significantly reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. As highlighted in this
Medical News report, many doctors and officials are still claiming that vaccination remains one of the most effective tools available to blunt the impact of the rapidly spreading virus despite lack of any real scientific data or peer reviewed clinical trials to validate this.
Concerning Trends Among Children
Two additional pediatric flu deaths were reported this week, bringing the total to three so far this season. Last season recorded 288 pediatric deaths, ma
tching levels seen during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. U.S.CDC data shows that nearly ninety percent of children who died from flu last season were unvaccinated. Childhood flu vaccination rates have dropped by nearly ten percentage points compared to pre pandemic levels.
What Health Experts Expect Next
Public health specialists warn that influenza activity typically accelerates as people spend more time indoors and increase travel during the holiday season. While more than 140 million vaccine doses have already been distributed nationwide, experts still stress that it is not too late to get vaccinated. The data clearly suggests that without stronger vaccination uptake, severe outcomes and deaths could rise sharply in the coming weeks.
For the latest on the H3N2 flu surge globally, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/influenza-or-flu
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/u-s--medical-news
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