Both Reuters News Service and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, are reporting that since the holidays, cases of Influenza A and B in the US have risen significantly. There have been 7.5 Million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations, and 3100 deaths. Those are big numbers nationally, but locally (Cave Creek/Scottsdale, AZ) I haven’t heard that cases are of the frequency and severity that they are elsewhere.
In one week, the CDC tested 59,364 specimens (samples of mucus from the nose, throat) and found 8.1% were positive. Of the positive samples, 94.5% were Influenza A and 5.5% were influenza B. The cases testing positive for ‘A” were identified as a variant of “A” called Subclade K. If I’m reading this information correctly, there are 275 variants of Influenza A and each has its own genetic character. Of the positive tests for A, 89.5% were the Subclade K variant. It seems, then, that the primary virus for the flu this season is that “A” variant.
So far this flu season, and yes, it’s early, there have been no cases reported of “Bird Flu,” ie. Avian flu H5.
A combination of active, high volume, Holiday travel, low vaccination rates (apathy and anxiety), and vaccine “misinformation” have led to the surge in cases. As I’ve said before, COVID-19, and all the skepticism, contradiction, confusion, and anxiety that were sewn about the disease and it’s vaccines did more to harm to public confidence and trust in the health care hierarchy recommendations than any previous event. People just lost trust in the scientific community and refused to be vaccinated when that had previously been their routine. Skip your flu shot and you’re likely to get sick.
As of December 13, 2025, 130.7 million doses of vaccine had been administered to Americans. That’s nearly 85% of the 154 million vaccine doses available. This year’s dosing data lags behind recent years, but it is slowly catching up. It’s not too late to get a flu shot if you haven’t already, because it’s the wise thing to do. Ignore the negative and get vaccinated.
References: CDC.gov Influenza-data
Mahatole S, Roy S. Flu Cases Rise Across US as Holiday Travel Fuels Spread. Medscape 2025 December 31.
