There were around 100 confirmed cases of influenza in Newfoundland and Labrador to end 2025.

That’s according to Dr. Mark McKelvie, Medical Officer of Health with NL Health Services.

McKelvie says the province is “well and truly into flu season now,” and the situation is being exacerbated by a particularly bad strain of the virus known as H3N2.

He says that is the predominant strain circulating this year, and it seems to be causing more severe illness and is affecting more children than in previous years.

McKelvie says part of the “constant hand-wringing” they do each year is trying to get what is in the vaccine to match the strain that is circulating.

He admits that “The match isn’t the best this year,” but that doesn’t mean the shot won’t work.

He says sometimes the vaccine isn’t as good as they had hoped at preventing people from getting sick at all, but it is still effective at preventing severe outcomes – such as hospitalization.