Could Washington see another rough flu season?
Flu activity is decreasing across Western Washington, but one doctor at UW Medicine admits the season so far has been pretty rough.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, 296 lab-confirmed flu deaths have been reported for the 2024-2025 season.
Dr. Ana Weil told KIRO 7 that flu activity has decreased a bit in the Pacific Northwest since January and February, but it's still out there.
'I would precaution people from totally moving on,' she said.
Dr. Weil told KIRO 7 that one reason for the severity of this flu season is that doctors are dealing with two strains of flu virus, influenza A and Influenza B.
She said the strains usually run consecutively, meaning one shows up first and the other a bit later, but this year they showed up simultaneously. Both are also still out there.
'It's a bit unusual how we had so much influenza b at the same time,' she said.
She said she hopes that a major conference that helps pick next season's flu vaccine will happen after it was postponed earlier this year. It's called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). U.S. agencies like the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) examine findings, make predictions, and tell pharmaceutical companies what to make for the next season.
The CDC website shows that ACIP was postponed with no future date set.
Dr. Weil knows the new vaccine can take months to produce so she hopes the conference happens; otherwise, another rough flu season could be on the way in the winter.
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