What doctors wish patients knew about the flu

AMA (Feb 3, 2023) – With the COVID-19 pandemic and all its precautions—masking, physical distancing and staying home—influenza activity was drastically lower in 2020 and 2021 than in previous years.

Now the flu is back, with hospitalizations at their highest levels and case counts continuing to rise across the country. Yet with a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza, it may be hard to know which virus you have. An infectious diseases physician sets out to clear things up about influenza to navigate the flu season.

This season, there have been at least 22 million flu illnesses and 8.6–18 million influenza medical visits. There have also been about 230,000 hospitalizations due to the flu and 14,000 influenza deaths, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What doctors wish patients knew about the flu | American Medical Association (ama-assn.org)