Flu victims are crowding doctors’ offices and emergency rooms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is seeing an uptick in flu cases across the country.
Brendan Flannery, an epidemiologist in the influenza division of the CDC, says the activity is elevated and they are concerned about the flu this season.
He adds that this year's virus seems to be especially severe for people 65 and older. "We've seen elevated hospitalizations for that group this year,” Flannery says.
The predominant virus strain this season is influenza A (H3N2); the estimated effectiveness of the vaccine is 43%. The vaccine’s estimated effectiveness against the influenza B virus was 73%.
Overall, the vaccine is about 48 percent effective and Flannery says, "That's not as good as we would like, but it will prevent a significant number of hospitalizations and even some severe influenza deaths this season."
The CDC encourages everyone to get vaccinated, saying some protection is better than none at all.
According to the Georgia Department of Health, the state has had four flu-related deaths this year. All four were elderly.
Flu can cause symptoms of headache, fever, joint pain and cough.