When Brooklyn Goodwin (12, HSU) felt a sore throat coming on, she wasn’t very concerned about it. That was until she awoke the next day with a 103 degree fever. She took a combined COVID-19 and flu test, but the covid portion was negative. She then tested positive for a virus that has exploded across the United States since October 2025: influenza.
Since the beginning of the 2025-26 flu season, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has estimated that between 18 and 31 million people have gotten the flu as of Jan 10. At least 270,000 people have died of the flu, and more than 8 million people have been hospitalized because of it.
“The super flu part of it makes it that it’s a strain that we’re not familiar with,” Joyce Rosenauer, Manual’s school nurse, said. “When you get your flu vaccine in the fall, you’re actually getting resistance to last year’s flu. So this flu is new.”
Though Goodwin described her flu case as going away faster than other illnesses, she stated that the first few days of it were intense, especially before her fever broke. Goodwin took Xofluza, a pill used to treat the flu and lessen its symptoms.
“It worked really well for me, but it’s sort of a scam, because it’s not covered by insurance. And there’s another version … but basically it doesn’t work as well when it takes a lot longer to work, and it has really bad side effects,” Goodwin said.
While last year’s flu outbreak led to school being cancelled due to so many absences, this year is not without its effects on student attendance. According to JCPS, there are 161 confirmed cases of the flu across the district as of Jan. 15.
To avoid the flu, the CDC recommends avoiding touching your face, washing your hands and other health measures. Symptoms of the flu include headaches, coughing, muscle aches and a sore throat. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, such as chest pain, having trouble breathing or dizziness, see a medical professional.
“[The flu is] highly contagious. If you’re feeling sick, put on a mask, make sure you wash your hands, don’t keep using tissues lying around and use hand sanitizer. Prevention is the best thing,” Rosenauer said.
