Description
The COVID-19 summer wave may be slowly leaving the building, but it’s been holding open the door for flu season to walk right in.
According to data from Stanford University’s WastewaterSCAN project, which monitors viral levels in human sewage, seasonal onset for flu didn’t arrive until November 2025. But this year, the Bay Area has already officially hit the threshold.
Doctors generally recommend that you get your flu vaccine sometime in October, so your body has maximum immunity as the flu starts rising. But this year, the early arrival of flu season — and the Bay Area’s first death from flu in San Francisco — has several counties urging residents to get their shot sooner.
For more information, go to kqed.org/news
✍️: Carly Severn
🎬: Darren Tu