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The best news concerning the 2023-2024 flu season in the United States is that most people have yet to be impacted by an influenza virus. 
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), six states reported a moderate level of seasonal flu cases as of November 3, 2023, and two areas (Alaska and Puerto Rico) reported more intensive influenza outbreaks.

According to a new poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, vaccine confidence has significantly decreased over the past two years.
This health survey, announced today, found that the number of Americans who think vaccines approved for use are safe dropped to 71% from 77% in April 2021.

Recent reports from various health agencies confirmed the 2023-2024 flu season is off to a slow start in the Northern Hemisphere.
This follows a de minimus flu season in the Southern Hemisphere in countries such as Australia.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that seasonal influenza activity remains low nationally.
As of October 27, 2023, outpatient respiratory illness is below baseline, and all 10 HHS regions are below their respective baselines.

For the first time, an influenza vaccine sprayed into the nose that protects people against the seasonal flu has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
If approved by the FDA, FLUMIST® QUADRIVALENT will be the first live nasal influenza vaccine available to be self-administered by eligible patients or administered by caregivers.

Walgreens Inc. today announced flu activity is 66% lower than this time last year. However, flu activity is 34% higher when looking at pre-pandemic seasons, such as 2018-2019.
Unfortunately, flu activity increased 13% over the past week, according to the 2023-2024 Walgreens Flu Index®.
On October 19, 2023, the leading markets with the highest flu activity were in the south-central U.S., led by Texas.

As the Southern Hemisphere's flu season ends and migrates to the Northern Hemisphere, new data indicates a lull in influenza outbreaks.
In the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States, indicators of influenza activity were reported at low levels or below the seasonal threshold in most reporting countries.
Published on October 9, 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Influenza Update N° 455 concluded influenza detections remained low.

Various flu shot benefit analyses are being presented during poster sessions in Boston, Massachusetts, this week. These data highlight the effectiveness and value of influenza vaccination across relevant age groups, risk profiles, and flu seasons with different levels of influenza burden.
An expansive analysis was announced today by CSL Seqirus, offering new data from three studies supporting the clinical, public health, and economic value of both cell-based and adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccines. 

While we do not know exactly what the coming influenza season will look like, flu seasons create significant public health burdens every winter, wrote the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On September 28, 2023, the CDC reaffirmed for persons aged ≥six months, receiving a flu shot each year remains the best way to protect against seasonal influenza and its potentially severe consequences.

A recent study revealed that despite more influenza A(H3N2) related hospitalizations, patients hospitalized with flu A(H1N1)pdm09 or B viruses had a higher likelihood of in-hospital severe outcomes.
Before this U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded study was published, little was known about the relative severity of flu infections by influenza virus type and subtype in hospitalized people.

In this World Health Organization (WHO) global respiratory update, influenza surveillance continues to be modest as the Northern Hemisphere prepares for the 2023-2024 flu season.
The WHO's Influenza Update N° 453 reported that in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, including the United States, indicators of influenza activity were reported at low levels or below the seasonal threshold in most reporting countries.