Helen Branswell
1. A #flu 🧵based on #CDC's latest FluView report.
Two more children have died from flu this season. They died the week ending Nov. 5. To date there've been 7 pediatric flu deaths so far this season.
Nov 19, 2022 at 9:29pmWeb
Show threadHelen BranswellNov 19, 2022
2. #Flu activity is crazy high for this time of year. It's key to remember that what's unusual here is the timing; many years flu activity hasn't even started to pick up at this point. This year flu season hit early. Not yet clear how long it will last or how severe it will be.
Show threadHelen BranswellNov 19, 2022
3. We can see that really clearly in this graphic from this week's FluView, which covers the week ending Nov. 12. This is the cumulative rate of hospitalizations caused by confirmed #flu. This year's activity (red line) is happening way early. Not clear if it will be a bad year.
Show threadHelen BranswellNov 19, 2022
4. This worries me. The amount of #flu in long term care facilities is starting to pick up. That's dangerous.
Show threadHelen BranswellNov 19, 2022
5. Virtually all the flu this year so far has been influenza A. Three-quarters of the lab confirmed cases have been triggered by A/H3N2 while one-quarter is caused by A/H1N1.
Show threadHelen BranswellNov 19, 2022
6. The @cdcgov
estimates that so far this year at least 4.4 M people have contracted #flu, 38000 have been hospitalized & 2100 have died.
That's a strange death toll for flu before Thanksgiving. But about that many Americans die per week from Covid still. https://cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report

Learn more about the weekly influenza surveillance report (FluView) prepared by the Influenza Division.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Show threadTom LevensonNov 20, 2022
@HelenBranswell How well targeted is this year’s vaccine? Is that known already?
Show threadHeisse13Nov 20, 2022
@tomlevenson @HelenBranswell 50% according to this podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/unbiased-science/id1531526782?i=1000585626033 #WearAMask
‎Unbiased Science: Flu Shook Me All Night Long auf Apple Podcasts

‎Sendung Unbiased Science, Folge Flu Shook Me All Night Long – 9. Nov. 2022

Apple Podcasts
Show threadLesley Hawes, PhDNov 19, 2022
@HelenBranswell Australia also had an early high flu season with a peak well before the usual winter/spring peak. Note it is not a notifiable disease so numbers are only lab confirmed not all cases - but may have been higher this year due to COVID testing requirements. So several caveats, but a shorter, sharp season. https://www.immunisationcoalition.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/10Oct-Aust-Flu-Stats-2022-PDF.pdf
Show threadEvelyn GorframNov 19, 2022

@HelenBranswell Beginning to rethink my bright idea of following epidemiologists.

*I am not one, & may be using the term imprecisely
**this is a (dark-humored) joke
***I think I may have spent too much time on Twitter

Show threadb3nNov 19, 2022
@HelenBranswell any correlation with vaccine uptake??
Show threadBunnies of TikTok ☭ Nov 20, 2022
@BenjaminHimes @HelenBranswell there are correlations with number of covid infections
Show threadChelsea Parlett-PelleritiNov 19, 2022

@HelenBranswell thank you for this thread!

Glad I listened to warnings and got my flu shot earlier this year

Show threadteevozNov 20, 2022

@HelenBranswell

Any info on how effective this year's vaccine is turning out to be?

Show threadHeisse13Nov 20, 2022
@teevoz @HelenBranswell 50% I heard on here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/unbiased-science/id1531526782?i=1000585626033
‎Unbiased Science: Flu Shook Me All Night Long auf Apple Podcasts

‎Sendung Unbiased Science, Folge Flu Shook Me All Night Long – 9. Nov. 2022

Apple Podcasts
Show threadNycticoraxNov 20, 2022
@HelenBranswell thanks for the reminder; just scheduled my flu shot!