This year’s flu season in Georgia has shown an exponential rise in cases than recent years due to the severe circulating strains and low flu vaccinations, resulting in more Georgians facing hospitalization.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, has officially ranked Georgia’s flu season this year as a high severity season, with the last one being in 2017-2018. Since October 6 2024 there have been 70 deaths in the state and 4,164 influenza hospitalizations in the Atlanta metro area. The high number of cases in the state emphasises the severity of this year’s flu season and how important it is for individuals to understand how to prevent the spread of the virus.
The most common variants of the influenza virus are types A and B. These two types are transmissible through humans. Georgia has had majority Type A cases during this flu season.
Type A has two different types: H1N1 and H3N2. They have dominated this flu season due to how quickly and effectively they spread. H3N2 spreads more frequently, resulting in more cases.
Data presented by the CDC describes the effectiveness of the influenza vaccines this year.
“Despite increased circulation of influenza A(H3N2) viruses, which are generally associated with lower Vaccine Effectiveness (VE), estimates from this influenza season were consistent with those from the 2023–24 season and seasons associated with higher VE over the last 15 years,” the CDC said.
Even though there have been more severe strands of the type A virus this season, the flu vaccines have been able to keep up in effectiveness, highlighting the importance of receiving the vaccine to prevent the spread of the illness.
It is recommended that everybody over six months old should receive the flu vaccine one time annually in order to prevent the virus from spreading and causing more outbreaks. The CDC has come out with reports stating that there have been at least 21,000 deaths nationwide resulting from this year’s outbreaks, reflecting the seriousness of the matter.
It is stressed by the CDC that people at high risk for complications from the illness, such as individuals with severe medical conditions, young children and pregnant women, receive the vaccine.
There are additional preventative measures that involve people washing their hands more frequently, isolating oneself if they have influenza, avoiding direct contact with others who have the illness and practicing generally healthy habits regarding exercise and diet.
If a person contracts the flu, there is one specific treatment option to help alleviate the symptoms. Receiving antiviral drugs to reduce the amount of time that symptoms are present is the number one treatment option because it also prevents secondary infections from forming. The sooner a person receives the antiviral drug, the faster they can recover, especially individuals with chronic medical conditions.
Secondary infections and flu complications include pneumonia, infections in the sinuses and ears and inflammation in the organ and muscle tissues.
Public health laboratories in Georgia reported that of the 2,486 cases, 2,383 were type A and 103 were type B. The difference between the two variants is that type B is strictly transmitted through humans, while type A is within human and bird hosts.
People who have underlying health complications, such as diabetes, can experience complications towards their current medical issues if they contract the flu.
The most common symptoms individuals experience from contracting the illness include fever, sore throat, respiratory complications and muscle pain.
“I had to take days to recover,” said Simran Puri, a sophomore mass communication major. “I could not go to class at all and I couldn’t even get out of my bed.”
Puri’s illness this year was more significant than in past years, she said. She missed several important classes and had to spend extra time catching up on schoolwork that she missed. Her experience relates to many students’ experiences during the recent outbreaks.
“I had to skip class because of how sick I was,” said Asia Pearson, a sophomore public health major. “I missed my classes for a few days and it made me fall behind in my school work.”
College students have had to choose between staying home and missing important lectures, or spreading the virus to others to stay on top of school. It is a tough choice when responsibilities are on the line, but an even tougher choice knowing that thousands of people have been hospitalized and have passed away from the virus this season.