BEYOND LOCAL: What flu strain is circulating; why so many kids are sick

Right now, H3N2 is causing the vast majority of flu cases in Canada

TORONTO — The flu has returned with a vengeance after being absent for a couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's hitting children especially hard. Here's what doctors say is happening, and why.Based on predictions from the World Health Organization on what strains would appear, this year's flu vaccine protects against two Influenza A strains — H3N2 and H1N1 — and two Influenza B strains which are called B/Victoria lineage and B/Yamagata lineage.

That's because people appear to accumulate some degree of protection throughout their lives to H1N1 and Influenza B strains, but not for H3N2. Kids under five years old are most at risk of getting seriously ill with flu, doctors say. And because of the COVID-19 pandemic precautions, the immune systems of many children under three haven't previously come in contact with the virus.

Seniors are also more prone to being hospitalized with the flu, but a higher risk in the older age demographic appears to be offset this year by public health measures such as continued masking in long-term care homes, she said.The Public Health Agency of Canada says it wants to achieve an 80 per cent flu vaccination rate by 2025, but the uptake falls far short of that each year.

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