Seasonal viruses, including the flu, are spreading earlier this year and health experts are encouraging people to protect themselves and others with annual influenza and COVID vaccines.
“We’re on track to have an early season,” said Dr. Fiona Havers, a professor in the Emory University School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases. “It’s a little bit hard to say how severe it will be, but we’re seeing more flu than usual at this time of year.”
Individual cases of influenza are not reportable to health authorities, but illness is tracked by Georgia’s Department of Public Health with the help of volunteer sentinel providers (private providers, occupational health providers, student health clinics and emergency departments) as part of CDC’s ILINet program.
When doctors’ visits for influenza-like illnesses — fever over 100 degrees and cough or sore throat — begin to increase compared to baseline levels of 0% to 3%, the state health department suspects that influenza is active in an area.
Vaccination for everyone age 6 months and older is especially important for those most at risk of serious illness including older adults, young children and those with underlying medical conditions, Havers said, but rates are declining.
Additionally, few children, including those who are at high risk and recommended to, are receiving the COVID vaccine.
“I think that with the confusion and the false information that that has been spread by leadership in our federal government right now, we are seeing declining vaccination rates,” Havers said. “And that is really serious because we know that these viruses cause the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans every year.”
People vaccinated against influenza during the 2025-2026 season reduced the risk for influenza-associated outpatient visits and hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which supports influenza vaccination.
