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Flu infections surging in Bay Area, nationwide

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong

Next month will mark the fifth anniversary of the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the scourge of that virus has gradually faded, a familiar one has returned with a vengeance – the common flu.

So far, the current flu season is shaping up as one of the worst in a generation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 24 million people nationwide have been diagnosed with the flu, more than 300,000 have been hospitalized, and 13,000 have died.In California, for the first time in five years, more people are dying from the flu than COVID.

KALW spoke this week with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease physician at the UCSF, about the flu season.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.