Atlanta: Flu infections have continued to climb across the United States, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating at least 15 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations, and 7,400 deaths so far this season.

According to Philippine News Agency, there has been a 10-year high in the rate of young children visiting doctors for flu-related symptoms. More than 18 percent of doctor visits for children under age 4 are now flu-related, marking the highest rate since at least 2016.

ABC News quoted Anne Zink, an emergency medicine physician associated with Yale's PopHIVE tracking platform, expressing her concern over the increasing number of severely ill young children. Zink highlighted the congestion in emergency rooms, noting the shortage of available seating in hospital lobbies.

Currently, about 7.2 percent of all health care visits are for flu-like illness, defined as a fever with cough or sore throat, establishing a record for this time of year, according to the CDC. Recent reports indicate eight more pediatric flu deaths, raising the total to 17 for the season. Last year, 289 children succumbed to the flu, with approximately 90 percent of them unvaccinated, CDC data indicated.

The majority of infections are attributed to a new H3N2 subvariant known as subclade K, which has been circulating globally since summer and has previously caused spikes in countries like Canada and Japan. As of December 27, only 43.5 percent of U.S. adults and 42.5 percent of children had received a flu vaccine despite ongoing public health recommendations.

Doctors continue to advocate for vaccinations, emphasizing that the current vaccine provides protection against severe illness, even if it does not fully match the dominant strain.