The Ultimate Culprit This Winter: H3N2
Run and hide… it’s the flu!
Well, you don’t have to hide, but health should be a high priority, as this has been one of the worst flu seasons we have faced in years. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there has been a record high of flu hospitalizations this year — over 23,000 thus far since October. And, as if the prevalence of the flu this year isn’t bad enough, this year’s vaccine was not nearly as effective as it usually is, falling to rates way below average. New York, among with 32 other states, is suffering the worst flu season in our country — as of late February there were over 101,000 confirmed cases of the flu in New York alone. I spoke with Ashlyn Horwedel, a Physician Assistant at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY, to learn more about the H3N2 flu strain that is running rampant this season.
H3N2 is a virus subtype that has caused the flu this year, and has been more serious than previous years and strains because it has been associated with pneumonia. Since the strain varies each year, a new vaccine is formulated with each flu season. On average, the flu vaccine is 10% to 60% effective (usually 40%) — but this year, its effectiveness fell at 7%-10%. While people have been skeptical on whether or not to even get the flu shot this season, it’s is always better to be safe than sorry. “It’s not that it isn’t effective. It is. But nothing is fool proof,” says Horwedel, “Luckily if you get the flu vaccine and end up with the flu, your symptoms are much less severe than they would be if you didn’t get the vaccine.”
So who faces the highest risk? “Young and old people,” reports Horwedel. She said that while the flu does not discriminate on age — infants/children and the elderly are more prone than people of ages in between because of their weaker immune systems — the ability to fight off the virus is a concerning aspect, especially this season. According to the CDC, there have been eight pediatric deaths in New York this year.
Why has NY been a serious issue this year? “It’s worse in colder climates, of course, but it isn’t necessarily what’s occurring with the weather that’s the issue — it’s the inside,” begins Horwedel. In the winter, we are indoors more — especially this year with the crazy snow storms we have seen in our area — and the origin of the problem lies in the air we are breathing inside, especially with an infected person. With windows closed, there is not clean air flowing in and out, and people are breathing the same circulated air as others. “Therefore, it’s more likely for the virus to spread. It spreads by droplets in a five-foot radius,” says Horwedel.
Knowing I’m a college student, Ashlyn told me although my age group has stronger immune systems, college students do face a serious problem spreading the flu. “College students are in close vicinity of each other. Libraries, classrooms, dorm rooms — it’s just a period of life where you are always with one another. Then of course sharing cups and drinks, lack of sleep, poor eating habits, etc., weaken the immune system. Lack of vitamin D by sitting in a library all day — all this contributes to weakened immune system.” College campuses are basically a snow globe of illness, where it’s tough for students to avoid infecting one another, “you’re also contagious for seven days or until symptoms are completely resolved whichever is LONGER,” says Horwdel, “so college students, even during the contagious phase, drag themselves out of bed to go to class because many students and teachers don’t feel comfortable missing a full week, thus infecting the world.”
That being said — get your shots, drink PLENTY of Emergen-C, and if you are showing symptoms — avoid contact with others!
