Summary
Flu season is intensifying after a late start, with a 12% increase in positive tests and over 12,000 hospitalizations in the week ending December 21, according to the CDC.
So far, there have been 3.1 million flu illnesses, 37,000 hospitalizations, and 1,500 deaths, including nine pediatric fatalities. Activity is highest in the South and West Coast, with severe cases reported across all age groups.
Experts urge vaccination, noting flu shots reduce severe outcomes and have historically prevented millions of cases and deaths annually.
It’s not too late to get a flu shot.
I mean, that’s kind of my point. I don’t think there’s signs up in front of the UK’s National Health Service saying “Free Medical Care!” because everyone knows its not actually free and that it’s funded by their taxes. Only in the US do we get this weird gaslighting and calling it “free” when it is painfully obviously no such thing… especially when the non-insured out-of-pocket cost is often in the hundreds of dollars for a single vaccine.