Stop the Spread!

Tharoon Balaji, Staff Writer

Over the past few weeks, over a hundred students have missed at least one day of school due to sickness. On one certain day, 95 students were reported ill and absent, which left many students hoping for a “sick day”. The students who were out sick were mostly out with the flu. This strain of the flu has proved to be one of the worst in recent years. There are reports of people dying from the illness every day. Just this Friday, February 23rd, there were 3 deaths from the flu. According to the CDC, over 700,000 people have been hospitalized due to this current strain of the flu. This strain is called H3N2, a particularly severe strain that tends to mutate more than other strains of influenza. Canadian scientists found that the vaccine that was administered this year is only 17% effective against H3N2, which is causing 80% of the illnesses. The vaccine might not be as effective as it should be, but it is still recommended that you get the vaccine because it’s better to be safe than sorry. According to the CDC, one out of every fourteen US citizens, who visited the hospital, visited because of flu-like symptoms. Even though we are nearing the end of the flu season, there are some seasons where it could linger until late May.

 

What this means for students is to be extra cautious, especially while at school, when around other students who have been recently sick. It also means that everyone should try to be as sanitary as possible. By being conscious about things like not coughing or sneezing on other people or just washing your hands before heating, we can help make sure other people don’t get a fever or a terrible throat pain.