KEY POINTS

Vaccine mismatches may raise severity risks this flu season.

Low vaccination uptake increases overall flu transmission potential.

Holiday gatherings heighten exposure to influenza and respiratory illnesses.

When it comes to the upcoming influenza season, there’s a potential mismatch between the vaccine and what might circulate, raising the risk that the flu season could be severe. And that risk could be even higher because of low uptake of the influenza vaccine so far.

The Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP for short) at the University of Minnesota has been receiving reports that the dominant strain of flu this season in other parts of the world that get flu earlier — H3N2 subclade K — doesn’t match the new vaccine very well.

Pamela Gomez, respiratory

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