Another Deadly Virus Has Infected 15 Million in US

The novel coronavirus sickens heaps globally. As there are at least five human beings infected in the US with the said virus inspire Americans to prepare, influenza is also affecting locals this season alone.

According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the 2019-2020 flu season is projected to be one of the worst periods in a decade. More than 100,000 people were hospitalized with complications from the flu. That variety is predicted to climb as flu pastime swirls.

Dr. Margot Savoy, chair of Family and Community Medicine at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine, said the flu is a staple in Americans' lives. She added familiarity of the season makes things more dangerous to underestimate.

She told CNN almost everyone tends to catch in the winter sometimes makes people too snug thinking everything is 'just a bad cold.'

At least 12,000 people die from the flu every year, according to Savoy, citing a report from the Centers for Disease Control. The chairperson added even the low-end estimate of deaths each year is startling.

Around 61,000 people died, and 45 million human beings got sick during the 2017-2018 flu season. At least 15 million people got the flu, and 8,200 people passed away in the US during the 2019-2020 season.

CDC reported that the flu activity had increased for 11 weeks straight and will possibly retain for the next several weeks.

Savoy said the novelty of emerging infections could overshadow the flu. People are less panicked approximately the flu because healthcare providers "seem to have control" over the infection.

"We can not easily tell what is truly a risk and what isn't, so we begin to panic -- often whilst we do not need to," she said.

The flu can be fatal

Dr. Nathan Chomilo, an assistant pediatrics professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said that the familiarity of the flu often underplays its severity; however, human beings should take it seriously.

The professor said severe cases of the flu aren't moderate ailments. He added the flu becomes risky when secondary infections emerge - the result of an already weakened immune system.

Bacterial and viral infections complicate the flu's symptoms. People with chronic ailments also are at a heightened chance for flu headaches.

Get your flu shot, professionals say

To avoid complications from the flu, professionals urge the public to get vaccinated; they noted that there are a few who decide skipping the vaccine is worth the chance.

Despite the fact that CDC research shows the vaccine effectively reduces the risk of flu in as much as 60 percent of the population, a 2017 study noted that humans decline the flu vaccine because they don't think it's effective, or they're concerned it is unsafe.

Chomilo stated a number of his maximum frustrating cases of the flu are in patients who can not be vaccinated because of preexisting conditions or their age (kids below six months old can't be vaccinated).

There are two crucial reasons to get the flu vaccine, he said -- "Protecting your self and being an excellent community member."