Sickness and Allergies: January 2024
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We're taking a brief pause in our series of the Seattle Elderberry story to bring you the latest on flu season across the United States. This is our fourth installment of our our “Sickness and Allergy” tracker and it's by far looking the WORST since we began this series in September! In today's blog, we're looking at a snapshot of the latest sickness and allergy trends across the USA.
We took a peek at the flu trends in December, just before the holidays and while the majority of the US was seeing lots of flu activity, we weren't quite at a peak yet.. The percent of positive tests topped out at 18% which occurred the week of December 25-December 31. Now the flu data lags a little bit, so I'm curious to see if late December was the true “peak” of flu season or if we've still got some highly-positive weeks ahead of us (see chart below).
Here's the deal- we hate that people get sick. That's precisely why we make FREAKING DELICIOUS, effective immune products to help you stay healthy!
One caveat we'd like to point out is that reporting and testing for illness is not all-inclusive. Many people will get sick and never head to the doctor, so these numbers are representative of a sample of individuals. Testing is also not always accurate and our interpretation of the data is just an interpretation. We are also not doctors, so please consult a trusted healthcare professional when necessary.
Influenza Sickness Tracker
FLU: Wow, we've seen a big increase in states that report high or very high levels of influenza-like-illness since mid-December. Influenza A is still the dominant strain this year with 79% with the dominant subtype of H1N1. (CDC Influenza Surveillance Report) Flu symptoms typically hit quickly and include (but are not limited to):
fever* or feeling feverish/chills
cough
sore throat
runny or stuffy nose
muscle or body aches
headaches
fatigue (tiredness)
some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
*Not everyone who has influenza will have a fever.
Want to know how to minimize your chances of picking up the flu this winter? Washing hands is ALWAYS important, but it's an extremely helpful habit when germs are circulating! Did you know that humidity levels play a big role in circulation of influenza viruses? Keeping household humidity at 40-60% has been proven effective in reducing the spread of influenza viruses! Plus, taking a daily dose of elderberry may help to lessen the severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms!
PAST: Week Ending December 15, 2023
CURRENT: Week Ending January 6, 2024
COVID Tracker
COVID: Test positivity for COVID is up 4% since the end of November and there has been a 3% increase in hospitalizations due to COVID. This was not at all unexpected post-holiday gatherings!
PAST: COVID Tracker from CDC Ending November 27
CURRENT: COVID Tracker from CDC Ending January 6
PAST: COVID Tracker from CDC Ending October 14, 2023
CURRENT: COVID Tracker from CDC Ending January 6, 2024
Conclusions
I'm really hoping that we're heading OUT of flu season and that this weeks' post captures the “peak” of the winter sickness season! We have known several families who have been knocked down this past week from the flu and it does NOT look like a walk in the park! If you follow us on Instagram, we've been extra dutiful about taking our daily dose of elderberry! We think theres's no need to be scared (of the flu) when you can be prepared! Elderberry has been shown to lessen both the severity and duration of influenza symptoms when taken at the onset of illness. Don't delay, make sure you're stocked with elderberry TODAY!
We always stand behind our products with our "100% Love It" Guarantee. If you don't love something, we'll help you find another product or send you a refund!
How We can Support You
Want to know more about elderberries and how they have been shown to reduce severity and duration of flu symptoms in clinical trials? READ MORE HERE
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