Health officials concerned about this year’s flu season

Health officials are becoming increasingly concerned about this year's flu season.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)— Health officials are becoming increasingly concerned about this year’s flu season.

They say they already see signs that the virus is spreading and gathering speed across the U.S. even earlier than usual.

One California high school said they saw about a thousand absences this week out of 2600 students.

Health officials say that as a result of social distancing and masking during the Covid pandemic flu nearly disappeared in the U.S.

That means most people haven’t been exposed to the virus in two years leading to lower immunity. They are encouraging people to get their flu shots as soon as possible.

Flu activity in the U.S. usually starts to increase in October and peaks between December and February.