{"id":4688,"date":"2025-12-11T09:42:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T09:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/health\/mutated-h3n2-flu-virus-is-circulating-should-you-buy-a-vaccine-this-year\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T09:42:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T09:42:38","slug":"mutated-h3n2-flu-virus-is-circulating-should-you-buy-a-vaccine-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/health\/mutated-h3n2-flu-virus-is-circulating-should-you-buy-a-vaccine-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Mutated H3N2 flu virus is circulating – should you buy a vaccine this year?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Michelle Roberts<\/span>Digital health editor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Flu has come early this winter, and experts predict it could be a particularly nasty season because of a new mutated version of the virus which is circulating. <\/p>\n

The NHS has already sent out a “flu jab SOS” encouraging vulnerable people to get their free vaccination. <\/p>\n

But should you pay for a jab even if you are generally fit and healthy?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Why is flu so bad this winter?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The version circulating this winter is H3N2 “subclade K”, a type of seasonal influenza A virus. Some are calling it “super flu”.<\/p>\n

People have not encountered much of it in recent years, which means there is less built up immunity against it in the community. <\/p>\n

NHS England says there were enough flu patients to fill more than three whole hospital trusts in the first week of December. There were an average of 2,660 patients a day in hospital with flu – a rise of 55% on the previous week.<\/p>\n

NHS chiefs say the total has kept increasing since 7 December, with no peak in sight.<\/p>\n

Projections have suggested there could be between 5,000 and 8,000 hospital cases by 14 December. The highest figure previously recorded for a seven-day period is 5,400.<\/p>\n

The number of flu cases in Scotland is also rising rise with the number of confirmed cases up by a quarter in the last week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Flu has started early this year<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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A number of hospitals have said that the increasing numbers of people seeking treatment for the flu and other winter bugs – when coupled with wider pressures – are hitting them hard. <\/p>\n

Some schools have had to bring back Covid-like measures to prevent the spread of flu, as rates of reported illnesses in schools and other educational settings rise. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Who needs a flu jab?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The NHS offers a free flu vaccine<\/a> to people who need it most, including: <\/p>\n