This college freshman never thought the flu could kill her. Then, she went into sepsis.
Kaitlyn Covert’s cousin died from the flu at age 4 — a few years before Covert was born. Growing up, her family adamantly warned others about the dangers of the flu. Covert, 19, never thought she could face the same fate.
She got her flu shot yearly without question. But last October, she postponed. Having moved from Philadelphia to Gainesville, Florida, summer weather extended into early flu season. She was still settling into her freshman year at the University of Florida, and while she always intended to get vaccinated, it "didn’t feel urgent."
Young people have always been encouraged to protect themselves and their communities from the flu by getting vaccinated, but many don’t think they are at risk of severe illness, according to Covert.
When she started feeling ill, Covert chalked it up to the “frat flu,” a term used by college students to describe the common cold that spreads throughout dorms and parties. She was otherwise healthy and had no underlying conditions.
“That’s kind of normal in my experience at college,” she says. “(Among) most of my friends, it’s very rare for all of us, or any of us, to feel 100%.”
But as her symptoms progressed and she navigated her first “real” sickness away from home, her mom encouraged her to go to urgent care. At the time, Hurricane Milton had just hit Florida’s Gulf Coast, leaving the eerily empty campus feeling like a “ghost town.”
Covert tested positive for both strains A and B of the flu, which is rare. She was suffering from the worst headache she’d experienced “in her life,” her blood pressure was concernedly low, and her heart rate had skyrocketed into the 200s (the average heart rate for ages 18 to 20 is 81.6 bpm).
She went into sepsis, a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body’s infection-fighting processes turn on itself, causing the organs to work poorly. Her lungs, kidneys, liver and other organs were at risk of damage, and she was sent to the emergency room for immediate treatment.
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Young people are more at risk of dire complications than they may presume. Every major hospital sees healthy children, adolescents and young adults "miserably sick" in the emergency room each year, according to William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"We can't predict if you get sick and you're young and healthy, who's going to be able to endure a relatively mild illness of a few days duration, from someone who that evening or the next day will have to go to the emergency room," he says. "But the virus can do that."
The U.S. is facing its worst flu season in over a decade. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began five years ago, flu-related deaths topped COVID-related deaths this winter. Yet, flu vaccination rates among the general population are at their lowest level in three years, according to CDC data. Among children, they’re at a six-year low. Covert's near-fatal experience is a reminder of the dangers of the flu, and she hopes her story will encourage others to get their flu shots annually and early.
But Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent confirmation as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has prompted widespread conversations around vaccine safety, and some scientists are concerned for the future of vaccine accessibility. On Feb. 27, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) canceled the meeting of its vaccine advisory committee to select strains for next flu season’s vaccine.
The cancellation sparked concern among some public health experts.
"Canceling a critically important Food and Drug Administration meeting that is vital to the development of effective vaccines for the next flu season is irresponsible, ignores science and shows a lack of concern for the protection of the public from this potentially severe disease," Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said in a statement.
The flu and mental health
Before getting the flu, Covert was having a great freshman year experience. She made new friends, attended football games and parties and enjoyed her classes.
But everything changed when she got sick, and her mental health rapidly declined. Her GPA dropped for the semester after she performed poorly on an important exam while recovering, but her social life took the biggest hit.
"I was randomly crying throughout the day for no reason. I did not want to go out. I did not want to be with anyone," she says. "I was so upset all the time. I just wanted to go home."
Research shows that viral infections are increasingly recognized as triggers for depressive disorders. After meeting with a therapist, Covert was told about post-viral depression.
"The influenza virus stimulates this inflammatory response, and it can actually get into your brain, influence your hormonal function also and result in periods of fatigue, lack of motivation, mood swings, diminished appetite, difficulty concentrating," Schaffner says.
Will RFK Jr.'s appointment impact next season's flu shot?
The cancelation of the FDA's vaccine advisory committee meeting is the second disruption to vaccine-related advisory panels since RFK Jr. took the helm at the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month. The health department postponed a meeting of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines last week to allow for more public comment.
Schaffner says that while the scientific community is disturbed by this period of uncertainty, FDA staff have reassured scientists and physicians via phone calls and emails that they expect the influenza vaccine to be available this fall at the usual time.
An FDA spokesperson said the agency would make its recommendations to manufacturers public in time for updated vaccines to be available for the 2025-26 influenza season. No reason was given for the cancellation.
Is it too late to get this season's flu shot?
Experts say it's never too late to get your flu shot.
“Any family physician would tell you it is not too late to get your flu shot or your COVID booster this year,” Jen Brull, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told Paste BN in February. “Flu and COVID exist all year round.”
The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu vaccine, ideally by the end of October. Appointments for the flu vaccine are still being offered at walk-in clinics like CVS Pharmacy, and peak flu season typically lasts through March but can go as late as May. Once you get your flu shot, it can take up to two weeks to build immunity.
You can still get the flu even if you are vaccinated, but Schaffner says the goal is to turn "wild into mild." Flu vaccines protect best against severe illness and hospitalization. Children and young adults, Schaffner adds, have a stronger immune response to the vaccine, making them even more effective in those populations.
The 2024-2025 flu shot has an estimated efficiency rate of 32%-60% against influenza and 63-78% against influenza-associated hospitalization among children and adolescents, according to data released by the CDC on Feb. 27. These estimates drop to 36-54% and 41-55%, respectively, among adults ages 18 and older.
"It's something that I take more seriously now. I hope that by sharing my story, other people will too," Covert says. "I would never want anyone to feel the way that I felt. I would never want anyone's family to go through what my family went through. It's not worth it when it's so easy to get the shot and it's so effective."
Contributing: Mariam Sunny and Michael Erman, Reuters, Karissa Waddick