Japan Faces Threat of Major Influenza Outbreak

Tokyo, Nov. 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan faces the threat of a major influenza outbreak in addition to a possible eighth wave of COVID-19 infections.

The number of people with immunity against the flu is believed to have fallen as no outbreak occurred in the last two seasons.

As schools across the country have already started suspending classes due to outbreaks, experts recommend vaccinations in preparation for outbreaks of both COVID-19 and the flu.

Influenza outbreaks occurred every year after autumn, until the emergence of the novel coronavirus.

According to health ministry and other data, the estimated number of flu patients was around 12.1 million in the season starting in 2018 and 7.29 million in 2019.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]