The Flu is nothing to "sneeze" at, pardon the pun. It can be dangerous, as we've seen many deaths associated with the flu across the country. Now, we're learning that Grand Rapids seems to be a real 'hot spot' with a large amount of cases being reported.

Doctors Report™ Illness Tracker™ reports from almost one million doctors’ offices across the nation, has expanded and released its current list of the nation’s top Influenza hot spots (by metro area) in the nation and we're right there.

According to the Doctors Report Illness Tracker, the severity level of the flu nationally is 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most severe) for the third consecutive week.

DoctorsReport.com is listing 27 metros according to severity level (High to Serious) and draws from a national database of doctor-diagnosed and reported cases over a period of the past seven days.

  • Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH at 9.5.
  • Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC at 9.5.
  • Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD at 9.5.
  • Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV at 9.5.
  • Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL at 9.5.
  • Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI at 9.5.
  • Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL at 9.5.
  • Jacksonville, FL at 9.5.
  • Richmond, VA at 9.5.
  • Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY at 9.5.
  • New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA at 9.0.
  • Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD at 9.0.
  • Cleveland-Elyria, OH at 9.0.
  • Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA at 8.5.
  • Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN at 8.5.
  • Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL at 8.5.

If that's not enough, he current severity rankings for Flu A, a different category of influenza, which can be severe, has us in there, too.

  • Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL at 8.0.
  • Raleigh, NC at 8.0.
  • Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI at 7.0.
  • Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI at 7.0. 
  • Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN at 7.0.
  • Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA at 6.5.

Honestly, it's still not too late to get a flu shot. Even though it's probably only up to 30% effective, it certainly can lessen the severity of the flu should you get it.

 

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