If it feels like half your office is sniffling already, you're not imagining it. Flu is showing up unusually early this fall, and right now the Bay Area has more of it than anywhere else in California.

The California Department of Public Health's respiratory virus dashboard rates flu test positivity in the Bay Area as "high," the second-worst level on its scale, KTVU reported. Statewide, the rating is only "moderate." The state says emergency room visits and hospitalizations are climbing, with 1,788 flu hospitalizations recorded as of Sept. 26 and more Californians in the hospital with flu than at this point last year. KTVU reported 34 flu-related deaths statewide so far this season.

Months ahead of schedule

Flu rates in California started rising in mid-September, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, when that kind of increase usually doesn't arrive until November or December. Dr. James Watt of the state health department told medical professionals on Tuesday that the state is looking at an early flu season. NPR noted another oddity: this year's flu appears to have started in Western states such as California and Washington, rather than in the South, where seasons typically begin.

What Bay Area counties are seeing

  • San Francisco announced its first flu death of the season last week, an adult whose age and health history weren't released. City data showed hospital admissions still low despite high flu activity.
  • Santa Clara County told KTVU its flu hospitalizations began at the end of August this year, compared with late November last year, and are more than 11 times higher than the same week a year ago. Flu levels are high in all four of the county's wastewater sampling areas. The county has reported no flu deaths.
  • Sonoma County said flu-related emergency visits have risen steadily since early September and that close to 5% of hospitalizations were flu-related as of Sept. 29, a level it didn't reach until December last year.

Influenza A is the dominant strain both locally and statewide, according to the state dashboard.

What to do now

Health officials recommend a flu shot for everyone 6 months and older, and say it's safe to get the updated 2026–27 COVID-19 vaccine at the same visit. It takes up to two weeks for protection to build, so getting vaccinated before the holidays matters. Vaccine uptake is still low: the state estimates only about 10% to 20% of Bay Area residents have had a flu shot so far this season.

"With fall festivities approaching, we want people to stay healthy," San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said, according to KTVU.