No, I can’t see into the future…
But some things are very easy to predict.
Flu Season Predictions
Here are some predictions for this year’s flu season.
- We will have a flu season epidemic in the United States this year. Surprised by that prediction? Don’t be. Flu activity reaches epidemic levels each and every year. What we don’t always have are flu pandemics, during which flu activity is very high in multiple parts of the world. By definition, flu season is an epidemic.
- Almost all states will eventually report having widespread influenza activity as flu season peaks. Again, this is not a bold prediction. It happens every year. How severe is flu season going to be? No one can really predict that, but we can look at the proportion of people seeing their health care provider for influenza-like illness (ILI) and laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalization rates as flu season moves along to get some idea. Remember, measures of the geographic spread of the flu don’t really tell you anything about the severity of flu activity.
- Dozens of kids will die with the flu – most of them unvaccinated. Remember, 37 kids died in the mildest flu season we had.
- A little under half of adults will get a flu vaccine, even though the current recommendation is that everyone who is at least six months old without a true contraindication get vaccinated each year.
- A little over half of parents will get their kids a flu vaccine.
- Some people who get a flu vaccine will still get the flu. You know the flu vaccine isn’t the most effective, but it still has plenty of other benefits, so even if you did still get the flu, hopefully you got a milder case, weren’t hospitalized, and didn’t die.
- Some people who get a flu vaccine and get the flu will blame their flu shot, even though it is well known that the flu shot can’t give you the flu.
- Many people who aren’t high risk will be prescribed Tamiflu. Or Xofluza, because it is new.
- Tens of thousands of adults will die with the flu. Even in a mild flu season, the flu is very deadly.
- Some folks will continue to push the idea that there is a vaginal spermicide in flu shots, even though that anti-vaccine talking point has been refuted a thousand times already.
What else can you predict about flu season?
Some folks will think it is too late to get a flu shot.
It isn’t.
Get your flu shot if you haven’t and get protected for the rest of flu season.
Another bold prediction? Elderberry syrup and Oscillococcinum are not going to help prevent or treat your flu symptoms.
More Flu Season Predictions
- VAXOPEDIA – I’m Not Anti-Vaccine, I Just Don’t Believe in Flu Shots
- VAXOPEDIA – Are Flu Deaths Exaggerated?
- VAXOPEDIA – Who Dies from the Flu?
- VAXOPEDIA – How Effective Is the Flu Vaccine?
- VAXOPEDIA – Why Do Some Folks Wear a Mask During Flu Season?
- VAXOPEDIA – I Refuse to Listen to Bad Advice About Flu Shots, and I Won’t Apologize for It
- VAXOPEDIA – Three Reasons to Skip a Flu Shot This Year
- VAXOPEDIA – Are Your Kids at High Risk for Flu Complications?
- Family Stories – Families Fighting Flu
- CDC – Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) Activity Level Indicator Determined by Data Reported to ILINet
- CDC – Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Hospitalizations
- CDC – Weekly Influenza Activity Estimates Reported by State and Territorial Epidemiologists
- CDC – Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality Surveillance System
- CDC – Frequently Asked Flu Questions 2018-2019 Influenza Season
- CDC – Early-Season Flu Vaccination Coverage–United States, November 2018
- CDC – Current & Past Flu Seasons
- CDC – Past Pandemics
- CDC Says Carnegie Mellon’s Flu Forecasts Once Again Most Accurate
- What Australia’s Flu Season Tells Us About Our Own
- Find a Flu Shot