For years, the flu has continued to consistently create a new pandemic, affecting more than thousands each year.

Recently, the new flu season has targeted younger adults with the H1N1 bug. With Bay Area winter in progress, locals seem to be more at risk for contracting the illness.

As of Jan. 13, a total of 15 people within the Bay Area’s nine counties had fallen victim to the flu.

However, Santa Clara County had been affected most out of all counties, losing four of its residents over the course of this pandemic– two of whom were 61 and 62 years old. NBC news reported, “That is the highest death toll of any county in the Bay Area.”

The current flu epidemic seems to have a larger impact locally than most have realized.

Carlmont senior Jenny Chen stated, “I didn’t know people were actually dying. The last time I got sick was two years ago.” Yet, others have not been so lucky.

Due to their weaker immune systems, those who are very young and those who are very old are normally the main targets for the H1N1 bug. Yet, a particular case was of a 23-year-old man who was unable to fight off the sickness.

This local case included one of Matthew Walker of Sonoma County, who lost his life to the flu this past Wednesday on Jan. 8. Walker had visited the hospital Dec. 27 to clear his symptoms but H1N1 had taken its toll upon his immune system shortly thereafter.

With unpredictable weather in the Bay Area, news suggests to stay warm and stay protected from the flu and its quickly-spreading impacts.