Local health officials are concerned about another rough flu season as a new variant of the H3N2 virus spreads and cases creep up in Bexar County.
The 2024-25 flu season was one of the worst in at least the last decade in the U.S. with at least 43 million symptomatic illnesses, 19 million medical visits, 560,000 hospitalizations, and 38,000 deaths, according to preliminary numbers by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in September.
“We usually look at what happened in the Southern Hemisphere to get an idea of how bad things will be for us here in the U.S. for flu season,” said Dr. Junda Woo, medical director at San Antonio’s Metropolitan Health District. “And it does look like it could be worse.”
The concern is driven by low flu vaccination rates and a new variant of the H3N2 virus, “subclade K,” which emerged late in the summer and has been driving an explosion of influenza cases in the United Kingdom.
Although this year’s flu shot isn’t the best match for what’s spreading, the shot will still offer some immunity and decrease the chances of severe illness from the flu. Local officials are urging residents to get their shot if they haven’t already. Here’s everything you need to know about the new variant and where to get vaccinated.
Subclade K
Emergency room visits and positive influenza tests are on the rise in Bexar County, data from the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District shows. As of Nov. 29, over 10% of flu tests came back positive across health care providers in the San Antonio area, up from below 1% at the beginning of November.
The increases are typical for this time of year, Woo said. During the last flu season in Bexar County, flu cases started to rise around this time, peaked during the last week of January and then fell significantly, reaching low levels by April.
This year, the H3N2 virus, a subtype of Influenza A, is driving most sickness. Additionally, a variation of the H3N2 virus, subclade K, emerged late in the summer after vaccine manufacturers had already started rolling out this year’s flu shot. As a result, the current vaccine might not be the best match for what’s spreading.
The shot still offers protection against other strains, however, and just because one strain is the predominant one now doesn’t mean that won’t change. One of the biggest benefits of the flu vaccine is decreased risk of serious illness from influenza if you do get sick, explained Dr. Jose Coba, an infectious disease physician at Methodist Hospital.
“Your immune system will still be primed … it will still be able to recognize it and have some antibodies necessary to decrease the severity,” Coba said, adding that everyone should get vaccinated, regardless of whether you’re in a high-risk group like seniors and young children or relatively healthy.
Vaccination rates are not where the city and health officials would like them to be.
During the 2022-23 flu season, vaccination rates for children were around 57% and 38% for adults in Texas. The adult vaccination rate was significantly lower than the national average, according to data from the CDC and Texas Department of State Health Services.
“I’m particularly concerned for children and seniors,” Woo said. “When we say it was a bad season last year … we saw 280 influenza-associated pediatric deaths (in the U.S.). That is a lot more than usual, and a lot more than it should be, considering that this is a vaccine preventable disease.”
Where to get your flu shot
The annual flu shot is recommended for everyone six months and older. Certain groups are at higher risk for severe illness from the flu, including young children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with chronic health conditions like diabetes, asthma, cancer, obesity and heart disease.
If you have health insurance, you can still get your flu shot free of charge under most health plans at any pharmacy, primary care doctor, local clinics and hospitals.
University Health administers flu shots at a number of locations on a walk-in basis, but their free flu shot vaccination drives have now passed. Metro Health’s Immunization Clinic at 210 N. Mel Waiters Way offers flu shots by appointment.
If you’re uninsured looking for low- to no-cost options, Metro Health is offering free flu shots on Friday, Dec. 12, at the Cody Branch Library at 11441 Vance Jackson Road from noon to 4 p.m.
You may also qualify for two state programs offering low-cost shots, the Texas Vaccine for Children and Adult Safety Net programs.
