Doctors urge flu shots, as new strain raises concerns for younger people

By
FOX Local
Published October 20, 2026 11:17 AM EDT

FILE-A lead medical assistant administers a flu shot to a patient at a hospital in Chicago. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The Brief

    • A new flu strain mutation, G155E, has led doctors to push for vaccinations for younger Americans.
    • This year’s flu vaccines are designed to target specific flu strains H1N1 and H3N2.
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reveals that only 50% of children received flu vaccines in the United States.

Doctors are prompting younger people aged 6 months and older to get vaccinated against the flu amid a new strain. 

H1N1 is the primary flu strain, but the 2026 version of the virus has a new mutation called G155E. H1N1 caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic and is not part of the flu shot. 

Flu vaccines encouraged by doctors 

Dig deeper:

Reuters reported that the 2026-2027 flu vaccines target H1N1, H3N2 — the primary strain last flu season — and one influenza B virus.

Most children can recover from the flu, it can be fatal, particularly for young children and those with underlying health conditions. 

The American Medical ​Association recommends the flu shot for all people 6 months and older. The vaccine's effectiveness varies depending on how well it is matched months in advance to spreading flu strains. 

RELATED: Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine gets FDA approval: Here's what's different

According to Reuters, roughly 32 million people in the United States have the flu, resulting in 390,000 hospitalizations and 24,000 deaths in 2025. 

Citing statistics from the data firm IQVIA, approximately 58 million adults received a flu shot in 2025, which fell over 20% from the nearly 75 million in the 2019-20 season, the last season before the COVID-19 pandemic changed vaccination patterns in the U.S.

About half of children in the U.S. received flu shots in 2025, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, compared with more than ​60% in 2019-20.

CDC data also reveals that flu activity is low but has increased since late August. Positive tests reported to the federal health agency by clinical labs recently climbed to a 10-year high for this time of year at 5%. On the West Coast, that number was 10.7%, compared with 0.5% in 2025. At peak flu activity, the rates are 30%.

The Source: Information for this story was provided by Reuters and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. This story was reported from Washington, D.C. 


 

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