Flu is spreading faster, earlier than usual CDC says

(Photo: CDC)

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control said Monday the flu season appears to be bad this year and is spreading faster and earlier than usual.

The CDC says the South and Southeast sections of the country are getting hit hard.

Even people who received the flu shot are still getting sick. The CDC said there are several reasons why.

No. 1, it does take some time for the vaccine to take effect.  It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against the flu. If you are exposed to influenza a very short time after getting the vaccine you can still get infected.

No. 2, there’s a lot of influenza viruses out there. The influenza vaccine will protect against three of those viruses.

There is one theory that the outbreak may be due, in part, to the possibility that the flu vaccine does not include the strain that is currently spreading across the country.

But the CDC disagreed, saying the influenza virus people are being infected with appears to be covered by this year’s vaccine.