Signs point to an early start for flu season, with cases already ticking up in parts of the U.S.

(Stat News) Before the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, influenza trackers would begin reading tea leaves around this time of the year, looking for signs of whether there would be an early start to the flu season in the northern hemisphere and which of the various flu viruses might be responsible for the most cases over the coming winter. Flu transmission has been low since the start of the pandemic, but an odd spurt of activity in April, May, and even early June of 2022 — which coincided with the onset of an early and robust flu season in Australia — suggests that flu may be making its way back.