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The U.S. flu season is underway, with at least seven states reporting high levels of illnesses and cases rising in other parts of the country, health officials say. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina. It was also high in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory where health officials declared an influenza epidemic earlier this month. (Stobbe, 11/17)

The percentage of outpatient visits for flulike illness, at 3.5%, is above the national baseline for the second week in a row and is at or above baselines in 5 of 10 US regions. The percentage of respiratory specimens that were positive for flu rose to 4%, up from 3% the week before. Among positive samples at public health labs, 75.8% were influenza A, and, of subtyped specimens, 87.2% were the 2009 H1N1 strain. (Schnirring, 11/17)

In the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, something strange happened: For a year or two, illnesses that used to emerge like clockwork when fall and winter arrived — flu, RSV, and the myriad viruses that cause colds — did not sicken us. (Branswell, 11/20)

After declining trends since the end of September, US COVID indicators rose slightly last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its latest updates. The rise comes just ahead of Thanksgiving gatherings and as other respiratory viruses such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continue to increase. In a survey update today, the Kaiser Family Foundation (�鶹Ů��) found that Americans' concerns about COVID-19 are lagging, which it says may explain lukewarm uptake of the updated vaccine. (Schnirring, 11/17)

About 6 in 10 adults who previously got a COVID-19 vaccine have not received an updated shot this fall — and about half of them don't plan to get one, according to a new �鶹Ů�� survey. The survey shows decreasing public concern about COVID near the beginning of respiratory virus season, including among people who've previously protected themselves against COVID. (Millman, 11/17)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Is Novavax, The Latecomer Covid Vaccine, Worth The Wait?

Erin Kissane, a co-founder of the COVID Tracking Project, rolled up her sleeve for the Novavax covid-19 vaccine in mid-October soon after it was finally recommended in the United States. Like many people with autoimmune diseases, she wants to protect herself from a potentially devastating covid infection. Kissane’s autoimmune arthritis seems to make her susceptible to unusual vaccine side effects. After getting an mRNA booster last year, her joints ached so painfully that her doctor prescribed steroids to dampen the inflammation. She still considers the mRNA vaccines “miraculous,” knowing covid could be far worse than temporary aches. (Maxmen, 11/20)