Massachusetts Faces “Very High” Flu Activity — Get Vaccinated Now, Warns Top Health Official

BY ALISON KUZNITZ

The state’s top public health official urged Bay Staters to get their flu shot as an influenza strain causes huge case spikes across the globe.

“We’re concerned about this new variant that is circulating,” Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein said on WCVB’s “On the Record” show that aired Sunday.

“We saw it circulating in Europe and Japan and other parts of the world, and it’s here in Massachusetts,” Goldstein continued. “The thing that people should know is that it’s not too late to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated protects you from severe disease, from ending up in the hospital, from death from flu.”

Subclade K, a mutated strain of the influenza A virus, is driving widespread cases across Europe. The World Health Organization reported this month that at least 27 out of the 38 countries in its European Region has “high or very high influenza activity,” with the new flu variant accounting for up to 90% of all confirmed cases.

Health officials in Japan declared an influenza epidemic in October, according to the journal Nature.

The vast majority of US flu cases have been identified as subclade K, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reported last week there have been at least 49,000 hospitalizations and 1,900 deaths from the flu so far this season.

In Massachusetts, influenza-like illness activity is “very high,” according to the Department of Public Health’s dashboard. There have been 20 adult influenza deaths and no pediatric influenza deaths so far this season.

“The end of December, the beginning of January — it’s never too late to get vaccinated,” Goldstein said.

About 35% of Bay Staters have gotten flu shots, while about 10% have received COVID-19 vaccines, Goldstein said. The commissioner acknowledged there’s not a “perfect match” between the flu strain that’s circulating and the available flu shot, but emphasized the vaccine “still provides significant protection.”

“We know this from other parts of the world, where we’ve seen people who get vaccinated are protected,” Goldstein said. “They’re less likely to end up in the hospital, less likely to be out of work for a long period of time. The vaccine still works, and people should still get it.”

The CDC, citing a study from England on the subclade K variant, said the 2025-2026 flu vaccine was 72% to 75% effective at reducing emergency department visits and hospital admissions in individuals under 18 years old, and 32% to 39% effective among those ages 18+.

Massachusetts is currently experiencing “pretty low levels of COVID,” Goldstein said.

“We shouldn’t fool ourselves that it’s not going to go up — it likely will,” Goldstein said. “But fortunately at this moment, COVID levels are low, and that means it’s a really good time to get vaccinated, right? Because when levels are low and you get vaccinated, you can build that protection before the levels start to rise in the coming weeks and months.”