Chicago-area hospitals say they\u2019ve seen spikes in patients with the flu. Emergency room visits related to the flu nearly tripled in suburban Cook County during the week that ended Dec. 20, said Dr. Kiran Joshi, Cook County Department of Public Health chief operating officer.<\/p>\n
Nationally, flu activity is high or very high in more than half of states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>. In Illinois, flu activity was moderate<\/a> for the week that ended Dec. 20, according to the state health department.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not unusual for flu cases to increase this time of year, hospitals say they\u2019re seeing large numbers of patients sooner this year than last year. It\u2019s not yet clear whether the illness is peaking earlier this year, or if this flu season is going to be worse than the last one, doctors say.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, we also experienced a severe flu season in Cook County,\u201d Joshi said. \u201cWhile back-to-back severe seasons are uncommon, they can happen, particularly when vaccination rates are low.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the flu spreading during holiday gatherings, this year\u2019s flu vaccine also isn\u2019t as good a match as had been hoped for a variant of the flu that\u2019s now circulating.<\/p>\n The new variant, known as subclade K, began spreading rapidly after scientists had already chosen which strains to include in this season\u2019s flu vaccine. \u201cWe\u2019re facing a significant flu season this year,\u201d said Dr. Jonathan Pinsky, infection control medical director for Endeavor Health Edward Hospital.<\/p>\n Last week, Endeavor saw about 900 patients with the flu in its emergency departments throughout the health system, Pinsky said. That means about 11% of visits to Endeavor\u2019s emergency departments were for the flu, up from 1.5% about a month earlier, he said. An average of nearly 80 patients a day were hospitalized across Endeavor with the flu last week \u2014 numbers that Endeavor didn\u2019t see last season until about February, Pinsky said.<\/p>\n Rush University System for Health is also seeing more patients with the flu than it did at this time last year, said Dr. David Nguyen, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Rush.<\/p>\n The illness can be particularly rough for young children. Throughout suburban Cook County, emergency department visits by kids for the flu are twice as high as they were at this time last year, Joshi said.<\/p>\n Throughout the Lurie Children\u2019s Hospital system, about 350 children were diagnosed with the flu last week, up from about 90 two weeks earlier, said Dr. Larry Kociolek, an attending physician of pediatric infectious disease at Lurie.<\/p>\n Children younger than 5 are considered to be at higher risk for complications and severe cases of the flu, he said. As of Tuesday, 33 patients were hospitalized at Lurie with the flu or RSV, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think people should be concerned. I don\u2019t think influenza is ever something to scoff at,\u201d Kociolek said. \u201cI think people tend to think of the flu as something that\u2019s just another cough and cold. Certainly, while most people won\u2019t get that sick from influenza \u2026 the risk of hospitalization and complications is nontrivial.\u201d<\/p>\n People should be vigilant about washing their hands, and those who are sick should try to stay home to avoid spreading the illness, doctors say.<\/p>\n Also, health care leaders say it\u2019s not too late to get a flu vaccine.<\/p>\n Though the vaccine may not be a perfect match for subclade K, it may still help reduce the severity of the illness and cut the risk of hospitalization, doctors say. A study out of the United Kingdom<\/a>, published in November, found the vaccine offered some protection against hospitalization and emergency department visits.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still an advantage even if you get it this late,\u201d Nguyen said, \u201cbecause the flu season will last for a few more months still.\u201d<\/p>\n About 22% of Chicagoans had received flu vaccines as of Dec. 13, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n Six-year-old Bentley Appling got his annual flu shot at Rush University Children\u2019s Hospital on Wednesday. After being hospitalized for a few days because of asthma complications, he was feeling better and getting ready to head home.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, life is unpredictable, people are unpredictable, so it gives me a little relief knowing \u2026 he\u2019s well protected, and it will give him a boost for this crazy season we\u2019re experiencing,\u201d said his mother, Melissa Borrero.<\/p>\n
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Medical assistant Loreal Velastegui holds a flu vaccine to be administered at the Esperanza Health Centers’ Brighton Park North Clinic, Dec. 31, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n