Flu cases in Boston and across Massachusetts are continuing to tick up as a new variant circulates, with public health officials reminding residents it’s not too late to get vaccinated.
“This flu season, we’re concerned about this new variant that is circulating,” state public health commissioner Robbie Goldstein said on a WCVB segment.
“We saw it circulating in Europe, in Japan and other parts of the world, and it’s here in Massachusetts. The thing that people should know is that it’s not too late to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated protects you from severe disease, from ending up in the hospital, from death from flu.”
In the most recent week reported ending on Dec. 27, Massachusetts saw just over 8,800 lab-confirmed flu cases, up from about 7,200 the prior week and just under 3,200 two weeks before, according to the state flu dashboard.
Flu activity in Massachusetts is categorized as “very high” by state officials, and flu severity reached “high” in the most recent week.
Across the state, 9% of hospitalizations were related to influenza, compared to just 5% the week before, the dashboard reports. The data also show 30 deaths related to the flu this season.
In Boston, cases rose to 748 in the most recent week reported, a slight uptick from 712 the week before, the city flu dashboard shows. The city also reported 11.3% of emergency department visits for flu-like illness, up from 7.2% the prior week.
The continued rise comes a week after Boston health officials warned of an early surge in flu cases this year, rising 114% in early December and even higher increases for cases in children.
The CDC has warned of a new flu variant, “subclade K,” spreading across the U.S., after rapidly growing across the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. Over half the U.S. states are reporting high or very high levels of illness, the CDC said.
The subclade K strain is a mutated version of one of the two subtypes of Type A flu, H3N2, allowing it to evade some of the protection of the vaccine. H3N2 is typically harsh, especially in older adults.
The CDC has stated its too soon to say how severe this season will be.
Goldstein said there is “not a perfect match between this vaccine and the variant that’s circulating” but urged residents to get vaccinated anyway.
“It still provides significant protection,” Goldstein said. “We know this from other parts of the world, where we’ve seen people who get vaccinated are protected. They’re less likely to end up in hospital, less likely to be out of work for a long period of time. The vaccine still works, and people should still get it.”
The doctor emphasized people can get vaccinated even well into the flu season.
“We’re seeing relatively low numbers of uptake, both for the COVID vaccine and for the flu vaccine,” said Goldstein. “Only about 10% of people here in Massachusetts have gotten their COVID vaccine. About 35% have gotten their flu vaccine. We want those numbers so much higher to build that herd immunity, to build that wall of protection.”
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