Amid rise in flu cases, Health Ministry recommends vulnerable wear face masks

Over the past three weeks, four children have died of flu, of whom three had no underlying conditions but were unvaccinated; new subvariant is driving spike in morbidity

Due to a steep rise in flu cases over the past few weeks, the Health Ministry said Tuesday it recommends that at-risk people, medical staff and visitors to geriatric institutions wear protective face masks.

The ministry said that as of December 7, there have been 513 new cases of influenza A and one case of Influenza B, based on reports from 14 hospitals.

So far, 633 kids have been hospitalized with the flu this month, 35 in intensive care. Some 900 adults have been hospitalized with the flu in the same time, 36 in intensive care.

Over the past three weeks, four children have died from the flu, three of whom were unvaccinated and had no underlying conditions, and one, vaccinated, who had an underlying condition. In comparison, a total of four children died of the flu during last year’s entire flu season.

The ministry called on the public, especially people aged 65 and over and people with chronic illnesses, to get a flu vaccine.

Almost one in six Israelis is already vaccinated against the flu. The ministry reported a significant rise in the number of people who have been vaccinated in the past few weeks: more than 1.5 million have been vaccinated, representing 15.7 percent of the population.

To date, 50.1 percent of all women and men aged 65 and over have been vaccinated against influenza, compared to some 48% in the 2024-2025 and 2023-2024 seasons. Three seasons ago (2022-2023), some 55% of the elderly were vaccinated.

Globally, influenza has been characterized by morbidity levels higher than the multi-year average and starting earlier than usual. The earlier-than-expected rise in morbidity is due to a new subvariant of influenza A, A(H3N2), the K subvariant.

Infected people may experience symptoms such as fever, coughing, and sore throat, similar to those of other types of flu; however, A(H3N2) strains can lead to more severe respiratory problems and be fatal in people with weakened immune systems.