\n<\/p>\n
March 2, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Here are the flu strains health officials predict could hit hard next season<\/p>\n The WHO has warned countries in the Northern Hemisphere to be prepared to fight influenza viruses that fall under the subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 and the lineage B\/Victoria in the next flu season<\/p>\n By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n This winter\u2019s flu season isn\u2019t over yet, but global health authorities are already preparing for the next one. Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) announced which strains it recommends that vaccine makers produce shots for in order to fend off influenza viruses in the coming year.<\/p>\n The WHO recommended making shots tailored to combating the influenza A subtype H1N1, which is also known as swine flu, H3N2, another subtype of the influenza A virus, and the B\/Victoria lineage, which is a type of influenza B virus. Officials also called on researchers to prepare \u201ccandidate vaccine viruses\u201d for a form of bird flu, H9N2, in case of a future pandemic.<\/p>\n So far this season, in the U.S. alone, flu viruses have caused at least 25 million illnesses and 20,000 deaths, including the deaths of 79 children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This year\u2019s WHO vaccine recommendation for the flu season\u2014a period that, in the Northern Hemisphere, typically begins in October and lasts through the following spring\u2014is similar to last year\u2019s. And like last year, this year has seen particularly high flu hospitalization rates. Part of why this season has had so many hospitalizations has been the emergence of a new variant of the virus, known as \u201csubclade K,\u201d which seems to be able to dodge some of the current flu vaccine\u2019s protective effect\u2014although the shot may still offer some defenses, experts say.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n The WHO also warned that flu viruses that usually only infect animals, including bird flu, have sickened at least 25 people across six countries since last September. \u201cThe majority of these cases had been exposed to infected animals or to environments contaminated with influenza viruses,\u201d the organization said in its announcement. And while the WHO isn\u2019t aware of any human-to-human transmission of such zoonotic influenza, it doesn\u2019t hurt to be prepared with vaccines, experts say.<\/p>\n The WHO\u2019s recommendations have come amid speculation over the future of next-generation flu vaccines. In February the U.S. Food and Drug Administration agreed to review an mRNA flu jab made by the vaccine maker Moderna, which had successfully used the technology in its mRNA COVID vaccines, after the agency initially refused to do so.<\/p>\n An mRNA flu vaccine, which would work similarly to the COVID vaccines, could be manufactured faster than traditional shots, experts say\u2014something that could come in handy if and when new variants like subclade K emerge long after a given year\u2019s flu shot has been produced.<\/p>\n U.S. officials are also backing efforts to make a universal flu vaccine, which, if successful, could offer broad protection against many different strains of flu viruses.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 2, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Here are the flu strains health officials predict could hit hard next season The WHO has warned countries in the Northern Hemisphere to be prepared to fight influenza viruses that fall under the subtypes H1N1 and H3N2 and the lineage B\/Victoria in the next<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[4255,3944,225],"class_list":{"0":"post-45635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-flu","9":"tag-predictions","10":"tag-season"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n