Flu cases high because this year’s vaccine doesn’t ‘match the hatch’

Local doctor still recommends getting a flu shot to minimize symptoms

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Jan. 14, 2026

By John Epstein

Michael Murnik, a doctor at Northern Light in Blue Hill, says this year marks one of the worst flu outbreaks in Maine in a quarter century.

“We’ve had an 8% increase in emergency room and office visits,” he said in a recent telephone interview with The Rising Tide. Maine’s Center for Disease Control reports that 108 people were hospitalized for influenza during the last week of 2025, and 147 people the following week.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control lists Maine among the states experiencing “very high” numbers of flu cases, the same as with other New England states. The exception is Vermont, which is experiencing “moderate” flu cases. Elsewhere in the country, only South Dakota, Montana and Utah are listed as having “low” flu outbreaks.

Murnik, who is Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital’s senior physician executive, attributes the spike in severe flu cases to a permutation in the H3N2 strain that spread through the Southern Hemisphere. This year’s vaccine formulation didn’t fully address that variant, he said.

“Every year vaccines are developed to match the hatch, and they come out in late August,” he said. “But this year it wasn’t a perfect match.”

Still, Murnik said he strongly recommends that people get their flu shot, which are available at local pharmacies. He explained that even if the vaccinations don’t prevent infection, they significantly reduce the severity of flu symptoms and complications. 

Murnik stressed that the elderly should get vaccinated because the illness always hits them harder.

“It’s not too late for everybody to get vaccinated,” he said. “While it takes two weeks for the antibodies to take effect, we expect the flu season to run into April.”

Murnik also recommended washing hands and wearing masks to avoid catching the flu. The Maine CDC reports that seven Mainers have died already from influenza complications this season.