US flu cases top 1 million in rapid surge

Did you get an early case of the flu? Well, you're not alone. Yeah, it hasn't spread this quickly in 15 years, and now there are more than a million confirmed cases in the U.S. Fox News' Mike Emanuel has more on the new CDC numbers. This is the highest early season hospital rate for mid-October since the 2010-2011 flu season. Flu season started early this year and it's spreading faster than it has in more than a decade. The CDC says there have been at least 1 million flu cases in the U.S. so far. They've led to more than 16,000 hospitalizations and 900 deaths, including at least three children. I know it's been going around the school, making the kids wash their hands as soon as they get home. I'm just cleaning all day when I have time. Doctors say there are two main factors driving the fast flu spread, vaccine hesitancy across the country, and flu variants emerging earlier than expected this year. This year, the early cases seem to be driven by a variant of the H1N1 influenza virus, and those mutations allow it to escape From some immunity in the population. The good news, new CDC data suggests this year's vaccine can recognize the variants offering more protection than previous years. Now the challenge is getting more Americans to get their shots. And of course, politics is playing a big part. The ACIP America's vaccine advisory panel remains disbanded, meaning there are no official recommendations this year. And that means insurance companies. Don't necessarily have to cover the cost of that vaccine and that can limit uptake. And remember, it takes about two weeks to build up full immunity after you get your shot. So now's the time to roll up your sleeves.