Doctors Predict What This Year’s Sick Season Will Look Like. Spoiler: It’s Not Great.

Doctors interviewed by HuffPost say flu season, typically running September through March and peaking in December or January, should follow its usual pattern, though the past two seasons were the worst in over 20 years. Flu vaccination rates have fallen since the pandemic and remain below the 70 percent public health target, especially among children.

Experts point to a relatively typical southern hemisphere flu season as a mildly encouraging sign, with one doctor calling this year's pattern 'lighter and later' than 2025-26. They also note that fall and winter indoor gatherings help spread COVID, RSV and colds alongside flu, and recommend vaccination, hand-washing and masking regardless of how mild the season turns out.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.