Rise in flu cases at U-M campus is good reason to get your shot this winter, expert says
Rise in flu cases at U-M campus in Ann Arbor is a good reason for vaccine this winter, says expert
The U-M cases have been identified as the h3n2 strain of influenza. That’s important, and concerning because we tend to see more hospitalizations and deaths in years where that strain of flu is the dominant one.
FOX 2 - There are so many questions about this new Covid variant omicron,- but there's another virus that is getting a lot of attention in our state and that's the flu.
If you haven't gotten that vaccine yet, you might want to based on what's happening in Ann Arbor.
The CDC turned its attention to the University of Michigan campus because in the past month there have been more than 760 cases of the flu reported.
The U-M cases have been identified as the h3n2 strain of influenza. That’s important, and concerning because we tend to see more hospitalizations and deaths in years where that strain of flu is the dominant one.
FOX 2 spoke with Dr. Emily Martin, associate professor, and epidemiologist at U-M who says what's happening in Ann Arbor might be a predictor.
"We're working together with the CDC using this as an opportunity to understand how the flu vaccine is working what we have to expect over the next couple of months nationwide for the flu."
Martin says the h3n2 strain also tends to mutate faster than other strains. People may have less immunity from previous years or the flu vaccine may be a less precise match.
That's something the CDC team is looking at closely. The message from health experts is to get your flu shot.
While 98 percent of their student population at U-M has been vaccinated against COVID-19, only about a third have had the flu shot.