[Khurram Hashmi]

I’m just recovering from the flu. It’s been a rough week. I am a health and fitness nut, and last had flu in 2011.

It’s Influenza A(H3N2)

The 2026 flu season is breaking records, with CDC estimates that there have been at least 22,000,000 illnesses, 280,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 deaths from flu so far this season. Were still on Feb 7!!!

So this is significantly more serious than covid.

Also, even in the pro-ivermectin community (like IMA health), there seems to be complete radio silence (lack of interest) in the “ivermectin for flu” topic. Why?

[aaronaf]

I asked AI (Perplexity.ai) to describe the statistics for this flu season.

How serious is this year’s flu season in the USA? Is it really as bad as it was in 1918?

Here is what I learned:

This year’s U.S. flu season is severe by modern standards, but it is nowhere near as catastrophic as the 1918 pandemic and is very unlikely to approach that level.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+3

How bad this year is

Current flu activity in the U.S. is high and straining hospitals in many areas.pbs+1
Recent estimates for this season are on the order of tens of thousands of hospitalizations and a few thousand deaths so far, with officials warning that these will rise because hospitalizations and deaths lag infections.[pbs]​
Many states are reporting high or very high flu activity, and emergency departments are seeing surges in visits for flu-like illness across age groups, including children.theatlantic+2

How 1918 compares

The 1918 “Spanish flu” pandemic was on a completely different scale:

<ul type=”disc”>

• It infected roughly one third of
  the world’s population (around 500 million people at the time).wikipedia+1
• Global deaths are estimated at
  50–100 million; in the U.S. alone about 500,000–675,000 people died.census+3
• Case fatality was over 2.5%,
  compared with under 0.1% in typical flu pandemics.[pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih]​
• In the U.S., nearly 300,000 people
  died just between September and December 1918, with about 195,000 deaths
  in October 1918 alone.[census]​
• High viral activity across most
  states and record or near‑record weekly case counts in some places.theatlantic+1
• A strain (such as H3N2 in recent
  years) that tends to cause more severe disease, especially in older
  adults, combined with substantial illness in children and young adults.cnbc+1
• Pressure on hospitals and ERs,
  which can make accessing care harder even if the virus itself is less
  deadly than historic pandemics.pbs+1

By contrast, even in bad recent seasons, U.S. flu deaths are usually in the tens of thousands over an entire season, not hundreds of thousands in a single month.gavi+1

Brief numeric comparison

Why this season still feels so bad

Even though it is not like 1918, several factors make this year feel very rough:

<ul type=”disc”>

Bottom line for you

This year is a serious flu season that warrants caution: vaccination, staying home when sick, and seeking care promptly if you have trouble breathing, chest pain, confusion, or persistent high fever.today+2
However, it is not “another 1918”; the scale of deaths, the proportion of people dying, and the overall societal impact remain far lower than that historic pandemic.wikipedia+2

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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[IMA-GregT]

👍

[cattlerancher]

The question in evaluating the effectiveness in treating the flu: is it bacterial or viral strain. If viral, then “I word” maybe an option and you should ask a treating physician you trust. Some studies suggest that “I word” may stop or slow the replication of viruses. It is not a cure, neither are drugs, supplements, herbs, etc. They are options to be considered.

I have not read any studies that use “I word” as a treatment protocol for bacterial infections. There are some studies at looking “I word” having synergistic properties with an antibiotic drug that is used in treating certain bacterial infections.

Since studies are limited you should do your own research in finding studies that address subject matter. Most information I find in journals that are not funded by the big guys.

My question is: “if you are healthy then why not let your own immune system fight the infection or virus?” Some reports say that you will have a stronger immune system for future biological attacks. It maybe the better and safer option.

Why you are recovering from the flu at home, you can spend some time to “contemplate the means of life”. Win-Win!

[Khurram Hashmi]

Your reply is so CONFUSING and NON-SEQUITUR, I would suggest you delete it for your own reputation.

Again, folks, ivermectin for flu (influenza) … possible benefits as treatment? 10s of thousands of lives every years, much less man-hours work lost, and other health-care savings (no ER visit, no hospital; stay). It’s the FLU, folks … 1918, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_pandemic

en.wikipedia.org

Influenza pandemic - Wikipedia

Influenza pandemic - Wikipedia

[aaronaf]

Regarding 13hml3’s claim that this year’s flu season is worse than the COVID-19 pandemic, here is what I found:

How does this flu season compare with the Covid-19 pandemic?

This year’s U.S. flu season (2025-2026) is severe but far milder than the COVID-19 pandemic in scale, duration, and overall impact.abcnews.go+2

Key Metrics Comparison

As of early February 2026, the flu season has seen high but declining activity after peaking in late December/early January. Here’s how it stacks up against COVID-19’s full U.S. toll (primarily 2020-2022 waves, with ongoing but much lower circulation since).

Severity
Drivers

Flu hospitalizations hit near-record cumulative rates (63 per 100,000), the highest since 2010-11, driven mostly by H3N2 strain and low vaccination in severe pediatric cases (90% unvaccinated). COVID, by contrast, caused prolonged national emergencies with ICUs overwhelmed, millions of long-term cases, and economic shutdowns—flu is straining ERs locally but not collapsing healthcare like COVID did.cdc+2

Ongoing Trends

Flu test positivity fell to ~18% recently, with hospitalizations dropping (e.g., 2.2–3.8 per 100,000 weekly), signaling a likely end to peak season soon. COVID now sees far fewer cases (~10x less than flu in some hospitals), thanks to vaccines, immunity, and treatments. Both remain risks, especially for vulnerable groups, but flu lacks COVID’s novel-virus disruption and higher lethality.aamc+2

abcnews.go.com

Flu activity elevated across the US with at least 18 million cases: CDC

Flu activity continues to remain elevated across the U.S. with at least 18 million cases, according to newly released data from the CDC.

[IMA-GregT]

@AaronAF Thanks for that info. Much obliged.

 

[IMA-HelenT]

Hi @13hm13 the protocols are still valid for flu and RSV

https://imahealth.org/protocol/flu-rsv-treatment/

[cattlerancher]

Thank you for the link.

[IMA-HelenT]

Pleasure, if you need anything else, just ask :)😊

[Khurram Hashmi]

The linked article is CONFUSING. So Ivermectin is one of several treatments administered for a viral disease. No way to ultimately deduce whether JUST ivermectin is efficacious. But, yeah, yeah …. a lot of fancy words in a protocol article sounds ooooh ahhh scientific and credible.

Me, I’ll just use the equine paste, cheap from Amazon, dosing based on my weight.

[Gary Graziano]

This is completely anecdotal, but here goes. I started taking ivermectin during COVID after I had the milder Omicron variant. I got over it quickly, but was soon diagnosed with COPD. I continued taking ivermectin in the hope of preventing respiratory infections. Then a CT scan revealed a tumor in my lung. I stepped up the ivermectin and added numerous other repurposed drugs and supplements, per IMA, AMD, Justice Hope, Jane McLellan, et al. I’ve had one minor head cold in over 2 years, and no flu in more than a decade. I joke that between ivermectin, mebendazole, and doxycycline nothing untoward can survive in me. (We’ll see how the cancer is doing in a few weeks when I have another PET scheduled.)

[IMA-GregT]

@flatulus maximus I hope sincerely that the ‘nothing untoward’ extends to the scan result in a few weeks. That would be amazing.

[Gary Graziano]

Thank you! From your keyboard to God’s eye (Your mouth to God’s ear doesn’t quite fit here.)

[IMA-GregT]

🙏