Get ready for an earlier, harsher flu season than normal, health experts say.
Federal health leaders on Monday urged citizens to receive flu vaccines to combat a harsher strain of flu that's expected to sicken people earlier than usual, according to the Bay Area News Group.
Five states are reporting high levels of flu-like illnesses, the news agency reported. Flu season typically begins in January.
"It looks like it's shaping up to be a bad flu season, but only time will tell," intoned Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The flu vaccine is a "great match" for influenza A H3N2, one of the strains currently making the rounds, according to the newspaper. Thus far, 112 million Americans have received the flu vaccine, the newspaper reported.
