Overview
- Doctors in Hessen report heavy flu activity after an early January surge, with a slight mid-month dip not seen as the end of the wave and the peak projected for calendar weeks 4 to 10.
- In Ostsachsen, the H3N2 subclade K dominates and is imperfectly matched to this season's vaccine, contributing to more infections and vaccine breakthroughs.
- A Görlitz laboratory detected roughly 600 Influenza A cases from local samples over about two weeks, and flu totals now exceed COVID-19 counts in Saxony.
- Regional services report strain with staff shortages, crowded GP and pediatric practices, and expanded hospital bed capacity and infection consultation hours.
- Authorities have recorded 17 influenza-linked deaths in the Görlitz and Bautzen districts and 45 statewide in Saxony, mostly among older adults, as experts continue to urge vaccination for at-risk groups.