Massachusetts
Massachusetts sees highest surge in flu cases in years
Massachusetts is seeing a sharp spike in cases of influenza.
Since Feb. 1, flu severity in the state has been classified as “very high” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest state data shows higher rates of flu-like illness than any other winter peak in years — and cases are still trending upward. Clinicians at local hospitals say this season has been the harshest they’ve seen in some time.
“One of the remarkable things is that we’re seeing … more respiratory illness caused by influenza than caused by COVID-19,” said Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “That’s the first time that’s happened since the pandemic.”
Nearly 11.5% of patient visits in the last week were for flu-like symptoms, according to
data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
That’s compared to 5% of visits for the same time period in 2024 and just 2% in 2023.
UMass Medical Center Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Sandeep Jubbal said he thinks the weather could be one of the main causes of the spike.
“Flu is a virus with a short incubation period that lasts one to four days, which means that symptoms typically begin within two days after being exposed,” said Jubbal. “That’s why we’re seeing this steep upslope in cases when referring to the curve, and it basically coincides with the time where we all moved indoors due to the cold weather.”
Jubbal also said that while flu vaccination rates among those age 65 or older are fairly high, only about 45% of children across the U.S. have received the vaccine.
“This is a virus that spreads close, congregate settings, and based on children going to school, is a high risk factor,” he said. “That’s why vaccinating kids is also very important in decreasing the overall burden of infection and the number of cases.”
Hospitalizations for influenza are at nearly 9% in Massachusetts, the highest since December 2022.
Nationwide, dozens of other states are also experiencing high spread of the virus. The
CDC estimates
at least 29 million people have been sick with the flu so far this season and about 16,000 have died.
Sax said that while generally healthy individuals are unlikely to require hospitalization, the flu can be severe for certain populations.
“The people we worry about the most are people with current medical illnesses, people at the extremes of age and pregnant women,” he said. “We know that those groups have much higher rates of flu complications.”
Both Sax and Jubbal emphasized that there’s still time to get the influenza vaccine.
“Vaccination cannot guarantee that it’s going to prevent someone from having an infection, but definitely at least moderately, usually shorter sick days, and it does help in preventing the spread,” said Jubbal. “We can’t control the weather, but we can definitely control the vaccination.”
“It takes only a couple of weeks for the flu vaccine to start generating antibodies to protect you, and one thing these numbers are telling us is that it’s not not going away any time soon,” he said.
While Sax and Jubbal both agree that rates will continue to increase, Jubbal said he expects the curve to reach a plateau and ultimately downslope as the weather improves.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
Watch CBS News
Massachusetts
How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?
With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.
So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?
An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.
Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.
While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.
Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.
“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.
GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.
Massachusetts
Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News
EASTON, Mass. (WBZ) — Police body camera video shows an Easton, Massachusetts, officer rescuing a 78-year-old Raynham man from a burning car on Friday morning.
A Mack dump truck was experiencing problems on the side of Turnpike Street just after 2 a.m. when a Ford pickup truck struck the back of it, according to police.
The pickup truck then became stuck under the dump truck, trapping the driver, Francis Leverone, inside. A Toyota Camry then hit the back of the pickup truck and caught fire, police said.
Easton police officer Dean Soucie arrived at the crash and saw that the two vehicles were on fire. Video shows Soucie rushing over before breaking the driver’s side window and then, with the help of the two witnesses, freeing Leverone from the pickup truck. Soucie said he was confused but conscious.
“As I reached inside the vehicle, one of the passersby — he actually jumped into the cab of the truck, and he helped me free the individual,” Soucie said.
They then carried the driver to safety.
Leverone was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to a Boston hospital. He received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
No one else was injured in the crash.
Dee Leverone told WBZ her husband is doing OK. “I’m just thankful for the people that got him out,” she said. “Very thankful.”
After watching the police body-cam video on the news she said, “I was shocked, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I just couldn’t believe it. His truck is like melted.”
She says she realized that something was wrong last night when her husband never made it home from work.
“I kept trying to call him and call him, and I finally got a hold of him at like 4:30 a.m., and he was at (Good Samaritan Hospital) and he told me he’s gotten in an accident,” Dee said.
She says he’s recovering at the Boston Medical Center and being treated for a dislocated hip.
“He’s a trooper,” Dee said. “He’s a strong man — and you know he’s 78, but you know he’s a toughie. He definitely is a toughie.”
Soucie commended the help of the two witnesses and said that before he arrived at the crash, they had attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher and removed a gasoline tank from the pickup truck before it could ignite.
“They jumped into action like it was nothing,” Soucie said. “Those two individuals were absolutely awesome.”
Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said that he is “extremely proud” of Soucie and the witnesses.
“He saved a life last night,” Chief Boone said. “He is an exemplary police officer and this is just one example. I think he’s a hero.”
Turnpike Street was closed for several hours following the crash. Easton Police are investigating.
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