SWell, the cold weather has only just arrived, in the GP surgeries the atmosphere is already that of the pre-Christmas weeks: loaded with respiratory viruses. This year, Italy seems to be alive an early flu seasonlike an unexpected guest who doesn’t wait for the invitation. The findings of the national RespiVirNet network, the system that monitors the trend of acute respiratory infections, paint a clear picture: between the end of October and the beginning of November the flu infection curve began to grow with unusual timing.
Influenza 2025 early: infection curve like in the middle of winter
In just one week, from 20 to 26 October, over 427 thousand new cases of ARI were estimated, the Acute Respiratory Infectionsa broader category than classic flu syndromes because it also includes SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and the other pathogens that flock to the cold season. In the following days the count exceeded 435 thousand, a pace that usually belongs to the harshest months.
Children and the elderly are the most exposed
Growth is not uniform: those who pay the highest price are very young children and the elderlythe two categories physiologically most vulnerable to decompensations caused by fever, cough and breathing difficulties. A dynamic that suggests a complex month of December, in which viral circulation could intensify further.
Early flu: rising cases and call for vaccination (Getty)
The call for vaccination: a decisive barrier against influenza
Faced with such a marked advance, the Italian Society of General Medicine calls for active prudence: getting vaccinated now means building protection just when the wave is ready to rise. The scientific society’s head of prevention, Dr. Tecla Mastronuzzi, uses an almost mathematical image: «Every percentage point more in vaccination coverage is one point less in complications and hospitalizations». Not a motto, but an epidemiological equation supported by years of data.
It’s not just the elderly who need to be immunized
The recommendation does not only concern the elderly, but also people with chronic pathologiesfrom diabetes to hypertension, from respiratory diseases to tumors, pregnant women, fragile subjects and those living in the community. In many cases, vaccination is free and available in family doctors’ offices. And, as in recent years, co-administration with other vaccines remains possible: against Covid-19, pneumococcus, RSV and herpes zoster.
The cold? Just an alibi: because we really get sick
But why do we get sick? In the great theater of clichés, the cold remains the undisputed protagonist. But the infectious disease specialist Matteo Bassetti, in a post published on his social page, tries to remove him from the scene: the harsh climate, he explains, does not “produce” viruses. Rather, it is human behavior that makes infections soar: more time indoors, dry air for heating, windows that rarely open. It is in these glass boxes that pathogens find fertile ground to circulate and multiply. His observation has the tone of a provocation, but it is also to explain: «Going out in the cold doesn’t make you ill if you are well covered. Indeed, the open air reduces the risk.” An invitation not only not to fear the outside, but to reevaluate it as a natural refuge in a season in which the real threat hides in crowded and stagnant spaces.
Flu season, beyond the alarm: an exercise in responsibility
Faced with a season that runs faster than the calendar, the objective is not to fuel anxieties, but govern the pace of infections with collective intelligence. Air the rooms, spend time outdoors, organize the days taking into account viral peaks, and above all decide whether vaccination is indicated for your condition.
This year’s advance reminds us of something essential: if viruses change the calendar, we must change habits. Understanding this not only protects us, but makes us aware protagonists of a flu season that no longer waits for the cold to begin.