Health
Are you worried about new influenza? A local doctor finds out
With the new flu making headlines, WPBF 25 News spoke to local doctors to find out how it's impacting South Florida and how effective the flu shot is in fighting the virus. WPBF 25 News Reporter Rachel Perry spoke with Kleper de Almeida, a local infectious disease doctor, to better understand how the virus differs from previous strains. Below is a Q&A that addresses some common concerns. Q: What are local doctors currently seeing when it comes to influenza cases? A: The number of influenza cases is increasing in our region and throughout the state of Florida. Q: Do we know specific age groups about who is affected and who is most at risk right now? A: I'm only seeing adults, and usually adults tell me they've been in contact with their children who have been diagnosed with the flu. In other words, it affects not only children but also adults and the elderly. Q: Are the symptoms different? What should people be aware of? A: No, the symptoms are similar. So usually respiratory symptoms, runny nose, sore throat, but also systemic symptoms, body aches, fever, chills. These are symptoms to be aware of when considering influenza. Q: Are you noticing an increase in cases earlier in the flu season than usual? A: Flu season typically lasts from December to the end of March, with peak activity occurring from late January to February. Northeastern states are seeing an increase in cases, which were seen earlier, in late December, and South Florida is also starting to see an increase in cases. Q: When it comes to the flu shot, are fewer people getting it or is it the norm? A: When it comes to the flu shot, the flu shot is not fully compatible with this virus, but this virus has become a concern since the flu vaccine was developed earlier this year. What we expect from people is protection against serious illness, hospitalization and ultimately death. So we continue to encourage people to go out and get their flu shot. It may prevent serious illnesses. Additionally, anyone who has had close contact with someone who has the flu should contact their health care provider, as there are medications that can be taken to reduce the risk of contracting the flu. These drugs are easily available. These are tried and true medicines that reduce the risk of developing the flu, sometimes by about 80%. Q: Why aren't vaccines designed specifically for the situation we're seeing right now? A: So there's a group of scientists who study patients who have had the flu, usually in Australia, China, other parts of the world, and they determine what the most commonly circulating viruses are at the time. That time is typically January and February of 2025. So they prepare vaccines against those viruses, which will be available in August. What happened with the K subclade is that the disease only became a clinical concern in the summer of 2025. Therefore, from the summer of 2025 onwards, it became more prevalent in the countries of the Southern Hemisphere, and then moved to the countries of the Northern Hemisphere. Q: Do you still recommend getting the K subclade vaccination because it may protect against death, hospitalization, and serious illness? A: Correct. So even if getting the flu shot doesn't prevent you from getting the flu, it can prevent you from developing severe influenza syndrome, which can require a trip to the hospital or be life-threatening. That's the potential benefit of still getting the flu shot. Q: What symptoms should I look out for to determine whether I need to go to the hospital and see a doctor right away? A: I think the most obvious symptoms are a high fever and severe body pain. So if they have such symptoms, it's a good sign that they're probably infected with the flu. More importantly, if you have difficulty breathing, you should seek medical help, and usually will. In 2026, there are over-the-counter influenza tests available that are easily available without requiring a doctor's prescription or a prescription from a health care provider. I encourage people to get tested for the flu so they can get help if they have a fever along with a sore throat, headache, or cough. Q: Some large cities are running out of hospital bed availability. Do you think there is a problem with that? A: Not yet, but if the numbers continue to grow and reach a higher level than previous years, that may be the case. Q: Is there anything else that stands out to you about this? A: What's unique is that it's rising a little faster than usual. We know that other countries are already being affected. The UK experienced an even bigger problem in December and is expected to experience similar problems in the UK. Currently, 90% of the circulating viruses causing infections in the United States are of this new variant, called the K variant. The K variant is very different from the virus for which the vaccine was created. Therefore, it causes more clinical disease. Vaccines are becoming less effective in protecting people. Nevertheless, we believe it protects them from serious illness. Kleper de Almeida added that if you have been in contact with someone who has the flu, it is important to get tested for the flu and contact your health care provider to get medicines. He continued that the medicines are only effective if given within the first two to three days after symptoms appear. “Don't wait more than three days before getting tested, because by then the medicines are no longer useful,” de Almeida said. For more information, the Florida Department of Health publishes influenza trends and statistics on its website.
With the new flu making headlines, WPBF 25 News spoke to local doctors to find out how it's impacting South Florida and how effective the flu shot is in fighting the virus.
WPBF 25 News Reporter Rachel Perry spoke with Kleper de Almeida, a local infectious disease doctor, to better understand how the virus differs from previous strains.
Below is a Q&A that addresses some common concerns.
Q: What are local doctors currently seeing regarding cases of influenza?
A: The number of influenza cases is increasing across the state of Florida as well as in our region.
Q: Do we know who is affected, who is most at risk right now, and the specific age groups?
A: I only meet with adults, and they usually tell me that they have been in contact with their children who have been diagnosed with the flu. Therefore, it affects not only children but also adults and the elderly.
Q: Are the symptoms different? What should people be aware of?
A: No, the symptoms are similar. So usually respiratory symptoms, runny nose, sore throat, but also systemic symptoms, body aches, fever, chills. These are symptoms to be aware of when considering influenza.
Q: Are you noticing that cases are increasing faster than normal during flu season?
A: Influenza season typically lasts from December to the end of March, with peak activity occurring in late January and February. Northeastern states had seen an increase in cases earlier, in late December, and South Florida is also starting to see an increase in cases.
Q: Regarding influenza vaccinations, are fewer people getting vaccinated, or is it the norm?
A: Regarding the flu shot, although the flu shot is not completely compatible with this virus, this virus has become a concern since the flu vaccine was developed earlier this year. What we expect from people is protection against serious illness, hospitalization and ultimately death. So we continue to encourage people to go out and get their flu shot. It may prevent serious illnesses. Additionally, anyone who has had close contact with someone who has the flu should contact their health care provider, as there are medications that can be taken to reduce the risk of contracting the flu. These drugs are easily available. These are proven medications that reduce the risk of developing the flu by about 80% in some cases.
Q: Why aren't vaccines designed specifically for what we're seeing now?
A: So there's a group of scientists who study patients who have influenza, usually in Australia, China, other parts of the world, and they determine what the most commonly circulating viruses are at that time. That time is typically January and February of 2025. So they prepare vaccines against those viruses, which will be available in August. What happened with the K subclade is that the disease only became a clinical concern in the summer of 2025. Therefore, starting in the summer of 2025, the epidemic spread in countries in the Southern Hemisphere, and then moved to countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
Q: Do you still recommend taking it because it may prevent death, hospitalization, or serious illness?
A: Yes. So even if getting the flu shot doesn't prevent you from getting the flu, it can prevent you from developing severe influenza syndrome, which can require a trip to the hospital or be life-threatening. That's the potential benefit of still getting the flu shot.
Q: What symptoms should I look out for to determine if I need to go to the hospital and seek immediate medical attention?
A: I think the most obvious symptoms are high fever and severe body pain. So if they have such symptoms, it's a good sign that they're probably infected with the flu. More importantly, if you have trouble breathing, you should and usually will seek medical help. In 2026, there are over-the-counter influenza tests available that are easily available without requiring a doctor's prescription or a prescription from a health care provider. I encourage people to take these tests and if they have symptoms such as fever, sore throat, headache or cough, get tested for the flu and seek help.
Q: Some large cities are running out of hospital bed availability. Do you think there is something wrong with that?
A: Not yet, but if the numbers continue to grow and reach a higher level than in previous years, that may be the case.
Q: Is there anything else that stands out to you about this matter?
A: What's unique is that it's rising a little faster than usual. We know that other countries are already being affected. The UK experienced an even bigger problem in December and is expected to experience similar problems in the UK. Currently, 90% of the circulating viruses causing infections in the United States are of this new variant, called the K variant. The K variant is very different from the virus for which the vaccine was created. Therefore, it causes more clinical disease. Vaccines are becoming less effective in protecting people. Nevertheless, we believe it protects them from serious illness.
Kleper de Almeida added that if you have been in contact with someone who has the flu, it is important to get tested for the flu and contact your health care provider to get medication.
He went on to say that the drug is only effective if given within the first few days of symptoms.
“Don't wait more than three days before getting tested, because by then the drug's effect wears off,” de Almeida said.
For more information, the Florida Department of Health releases the following trends and statistics. influenza website.
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