Worst flu outbreak in ten years hits! Hospitalizations surge across U.S. states

　　China News Service, December 6th. According to a report by the US news website Axios on the 5th local time, the worst flu in the United States in more than a decade has hit the medical system that is already on the verge of collapse due to the new crown epidemic and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). health system.

　　The flu has reportedly seen high or very high levels of flu activity in nearly every state.

　　According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of flu-related hospitalizations during Thanksgiving nearly doubled from the previous week and was the highest since the 2010-2011 flu season.

Adults 65 and older and children 4 and younger are most affected, especially if they have underlying health conditions.

　　But about 40% of Americans said they do not plan to get a flu shot this season, mainly because they worry that the vaccine will not work well or have side effects.

　　Public health experts say face masks and other COVID-19 precautions have largely contained the flu and interrupted its seasonal spread over the past two years.

But as people return to their pre-pandemic lives, it also makes them more susceptible to infection.

　　Last year, a team of researchers predicted a sharp rebound in children's outbreaks once personal protective measures were lifted, with researchers urging a robust "follow-up vaccination programme".

　　The CDC estimates that at least 8.7 million people have been sickened, 78,000 have been hospitalized and 4,500 have died so far this flu season.

　　According to CNN reports, the Biden administration has promised to provide resources and personnel to help the local health system cope with the surge in influenza, but is not considering declaring a public health emergency for the time being.

　　Between 2009 and 2022, flu hospitalization rates among African-American adults were nearly 80 percent higher than among white adults, according to the CDC.

But during the 2021-2022 flu season, fewer than 43 percent of Black, Hispanic and Native American adults will be vaccinated.

　　In a letter to states, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wrote that the federal government could step in to help a stressed healthcare system, such as by allowing waivers for understaffed hospitals to increase capacity to treat patients, or Make it easier for them to transfer flu, covid or RSV patients.