The Decibel Why the flu is so bad this year
Jan 19, 2026
Alanna Smith, a health reporter for The Globe and Mail, discusses the intense flu season hitting Canada. She highlights the aggressive H3N2 variant and its impact on healthcare, including overwhelming ERs in Alberta. Alanna explains discrepancies in vaccination rates and concerns over low uptake. She also shares real stories from patients facing long waits and discusses how this season's flu compares to COVID. Practical tips for prevention and the importance of vaccination, even this late in the season, are underscored throughout the conversation.
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Reader Stories Of Severe Illness
- Globe readers reported severe, prolonged fevers, headaches, body aches and extreme fatigue.
- One reader described family spread despite distancing and separate rooms, showing high household transmissibility.
Early, Intense Peak This Season
- This season hit unusually early and hard, peaking in late December with very high positivity rates.
- A 33.3% positivity at peak is the highest recorded in the last three post-pandemic seasons and signals intense spread.
Post-Pandemic Comparisons Are More Useful
- Comparing post-pandemic seasons gives a clearer apples-to-apples view because COVID-era restrictions changed flu patterns.
- Pre-pandemic comparisons are less reliable due to those exceptional behavioral and policy shifts.