The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the current winter presented unusually high flu risk.
The winter was “classified as a high severity season overall and for all age groups (children, adults, older adults) and is the first high severity season since 2017-2018,” the agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated in its latest update on the 2024-2025 flu season.
The CDC’s assessment arrived amid widespread media coverage of the seasonal flu and the unrelated bird flu (avian) epidemic that killed millions of chickens and caused egg prices to soar above $8.50 per dozen.
Key findings by the CDC for the seventh week of the flu season ending on February 15 included 2,486 viruses reported by public health labs, two new cases of avian influenza with no reports of human-to-human transmission, 44 geographical areas reporting high or very high flu activity, a total of 33 million people infected, 430,000 hospitalizations, and 19,000 deaths from flu so far, including 86 in the pediatric population.
While hospitalizations for flu and cases of outpatient respiratory illnesses declined for “Week 7,” ending on February 15, deaths attributed to influenza were up by 3 percent for the same period.
Fear of Co-Infection
While influenza infections rates have remained high this season, cases of COVID-19 remain relatively low. The CDC reports cases of COVID-19 cases for the week ending on March 1are at the same level as they were this time last year.
The active flu season is drawing the attention of public health officials for another reason: co-infection with bird flu.
“This is certainly a huge concern,” Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, told NPR. “The danger with flu activity is that we have so many people that are infected with these seasonal viruses that it could increase the chance that you get a co-infection in a person with one of these seasonal viruses and H5N1, which gives the opportunity to generate a new virus that transmits really well from human to human. And that is one way you get a pandemic.”
The CDC recommends everyone over six months old get a seasonal flu shot, however, a preliminary report released in October by the CDC suggested flu shots’ effectiveness in keeping children five years old and younger out of hospital was 39 percent.
Vaccine Safety on the Hot Seat
How vigorously the current administration will be promoting vaccines for viral infections is up for question. On March 13, President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of former Florida congressman Dave Weldon, M.D., to head the CDC. Like HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Weldon is a longtime skeptic of vaccine safety.
In 2007, Weldon cosponsored a bill that would have removed most vaccine safety research from the CDC and given responsibility for vaccine safety to an independent agency within HHS.
“There’s an enormous inherent conflict of interest within the CDC, and if we fail to move vaccine safety to an independent office, safety issues will remain a low priority and public confidence in vaccines will continue to erode,” said Weldon while introducing his bill.
This season 147 million flu shots have been distributed; 157 million were distributed by the same time last season.
Efficacy Questions
McCullough Foundation President Peter A. McCullough, M.D., MPH, says this year’s flu vaccines do not provide adequate protection. McCullough recommends other treatments to reduce symptoms.
“My clinical impression is that this has been a particularly severe influenza with only modest protection from the vaccine,” said McCullough. “I help my patients reduce their risk with twice-daily viricidal nasal sprays and gargles every day, and I strongly advise high-risk individuals to have oseltamivir or baloxavir available on day one of the illness.
“I have found that we can get to near zero cases of flu using these strategies,” said McCullough. “It is clear that vaccination alone is not sufficient.”
The flu vaccine does not have a good track record for efficacy, says Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons.
“’Influenza-like illnesses’ occur every year, and we are unable to pinpoint the exact virus in the majority of cases even if testing is done,” said Orient. “Since it makes no difference in the treatment, the main reason for testing is epidemiological.
“The CDC advocates annual shots for almost everyone,” said Orient. “The main reason is to make it economically feasible to maintain production capacity in case of another 1918-style pandemic. Does this practice make a patient less likely to catch some respiratory illness? It may actually increase influenza-related deaths.”
Data Shortage
The vaccine illness-worsening hypothesis warrants investigation, says Orient.
“What is the effect of repeated annual doses, with the load of adjuvants that stimulate the immune system?” asked Orient. “This has not been studied. Patients need to weigh the risks and benefits before getting the annual flu shot, though this is difficult because of inadequate data.”
Bonner Russell Cohen, Ph.D., ([email protected]) is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research.
