Bay Area flu deaths high for so early in season This year's primary strain, H1N1, tends to hit adults under 65 harder than most influenza

This year's flu season is off to an early and aggressive start with more than two dozen deaths reported statewide so far, including nine in the Bay Area, most of them due to a strain of influenza that has a penchant for targeting the relatively young and healthy.

State public health officials said Friday they are investigating 35 deaths in people younger than 65 that are believed to have been caused by the flu. In the Bay Area, all but two of the nine counties have reported at least one flu-related death.

Those numbers are higher than normal for this time of year, but don't necessarily suggest that this season will be worse than usual, said Dr. Gil Chavez, deputy director of the center for infectious diseases with the California Department of Public Health. Last year, 106 younger adults in California died of flu-related causes during the entire influenza season.

There is still time for people to get flu vaccinations, Chavez said. He added that if enough people are immunized, community-wide protection could build up, slowing down the spread of the virus and taming what might otherwise be a severe season.

"The number of confirmed fatalities is rising rapidly and exceeds what is expected for this time of year," Chavez said Friday in a media conference call. "The community as a whole can impact that trend. If we get more people to get vaccinated now, I can assure you that that curve will abate because we will have prevented many more illnesses."

Chavez said plenty of flu vaccine is available, despite sporadic reports of pharmacies or doctors' offices running out of supplies. Walgreens officials said that there were isolated incidents of pharmacies running out of flu shots but that all locations were expected to be restocked within a day or two.

Kaiser, the largest health provider in the Bay Area, saw a surge in vaccine interest among patients this week and last, said Dr. Randy Bergen, clinical lead for the Kaiser Northern California flu vaccine program. He said he knew of a few "spot shortages" at individual clinics, "but regionally, we have plenty of flu vaccine."

The vaccine is well-matched to this year's flu season and protects against all strains of influenza that have been identified in patients. The primary strain circulating this year is Type A, subtype H1N1 - also known as the "swine flu," which caused a global outbreak in 2009.

People age 65 and older appear to have some protection against H1N1, which tends to strike younger adults - even those who are otherwise healthy - harder than most influenza strains. Symptoms of the flu include high fever, body aches and a sudden onset of illness.

Even after people are vaccinated, it's important they take other steps like regularly washing their hands or covering coughs and sneezes to keep themselves, and others, healthy, said Dr. Cora Hoover, director of communicable disease control and prevention for the San Francisco Public Health Department.

"This time of year, there are a lot of other viruses besides the flu that are circulating," Hoover said. "It's really the season to be very careful about keeping an eye on your own hygiene practices."