US sees spike in flu cases in December, after most severe season since 2018
Source: The Guardian
US sees spike in flu cases in December, after most severe season since 2018
Not clear whether more people will get the flu this season, but more than 3,100 people have died in last year in US
Eric Berger
Sat 3 Jan 2026 19.01 GMT
Last modified on Sat 3 Jan 2026 20.10 GMT
The United States has seen the number of influenza cases climb significantly in December, coming after the most severe flu season since 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
It’s not yet clear whether there will be an increase in the total number of people who get the flu this season – or whether more people just got it at once in December – but more than 3,100 people died from the virus in the US in the year ending August 2025, according to the latest data from the CDC.
As such, people who have not yet gotten a flu vaccine should still get one, according to Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University.
“Bottom line for people, if they haven’t gotten vaccinated against the flu, they should get vaccinated, particularly young kids and older adults,” Nuzzo said.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/03/us-spike-influenza-december
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