In just one week, 3,000 people were hospitalized due to the flu, according to the CDC. So far this season, 12,000 people have been hospitalized because of this virus, and the number of people seeking relief from the flu is rising. In California, tents had to be placed outside of the ER to deal with the high number of flu patients. Nurses had to be flown in to help, and doctors had to work double and triple shifts.

The flu is not severe in just California; it has hit almost all of the 50 states. School districts in Florida and Texas have completely closed due to this virus. The season began in October, but began to rapidly rise in January.

Why is the flu so bad this year? A certain strain of the virus, called H3N2, causes the vaccines to be less effective and it heightens the effects of the flu. Many people think that the vaccine doesn’t work this year, and they are partly correct. The effectiveness of the vaccine working against H3N2 is around 17%, but it is much more likely to work against other strains of the flu.

Surprisingly, the people most affected by the flu this year are infants; the people who are usually most affected are people over the age of 65. This flu season, 53 children have died due to the flu, and 16 out of the 53 passed in the last week of January. That is the most child deaths from the flu since the 2015-2016 flu season. Although infants and children are the most susceptible to the virus this year, individuals with the second-highest hospitalization rate are between 50 to 64 years old.

Since the flu can be spread through the air we breathe, it is best to stay away from people with this illness. But if that is inevitable, for example, if someone comes to school with the flu and you sit next to them, there is a high change that you might get sick. It is best to recognize the virus early on in order to prevent it from spreading it to other people. The symptoms of the flu are fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, and headaches and/or fatigue, according to the CDC. The early stages of the flu are often mistaken for just a common cold. The symptoms of the flu occur more suddenly, whereas a cold occurs gradually.

Experts are saying that it is still not too late to get a flu shot. Although it is late in the season, it’s worth a shot.