💀 Monday, you never fail to forget about us.

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny with highs around 60, lows near 50.

🎂 Happy birthday to our members Camilo Espinosa and Teresa Conway!

🎧 Sounds like: "Give Me A Reason" by Boy Harsher.

Today’s newsletter is 622 words — a 2.5-minute read.

Early signs suggest flu season is starting sooner than in recent years.

Why it matters: California is coming off a 2025-26 flu season that strained hospitals and sent thousands of residents seeking medical care, raising concerns about what another early start could mean for the state's health care system.

By the numbers: About 3.6% of flu tests came back positive in early October, compared with just 0.6% at the same point last year, according to CDC data.

• The CDC's published methodology shows no change in flu test positivity calculations.

Zoom in: California is experiencing an unusually early and aggressive flu surge for the 2026–2027 season, with flu test positivity rising to 5% statewide during the week ending Oct. 10, up from 3.9% the previous week.

• Wastewater testing shows very low levels of influenza A, while flu-related emergency room visits remain low but are increasing.
• The trends suggest California is still in the early stages of flu season, though it's too soon to know how quickly cases could climb.

Zoom out: Additional data, including outpatient reports, suggest flu activity is on the rise.

• The highest percentages of medical visits for flu-like illness are in children.
• Meanwhile, RSV activity remains very low in most of the country, while COVID activity is still elevated in some regions but declining nationally, per the CDC.

What they're saying: "'Get your flu shot now' is my best advice," Trish Perl, a professor of infectious diseases and epidemiology at UT Southwestern, tells Axios.

• It generally takes up to two weeks after vaccination for the immune system to develop maximum immune response.

The intrigue: This season, the newU.S.-approved mRNA flu vaccine is available to adults 50 and older.

• The move comes as the Trump administration has reshaped federal vaccine policy and put greater emphasis on vaccine safety and injury reporting.
• Yes, but: Serious reactions caused by vaccines are rare, and a health problem reported after vaccination does not necessarily mean the vaccine caused it, CDC has said.

The bottom line: The early rise in flu positivity is worth watching, but it does not yet tell us how severe the "reliably unreliable" flu season — as Perl describes it — will be.

✈️ A Singapore Airlines flight bound for Singapore returned to SFO nearly nine hours after takeoff after an unruly passenger reportedly screamed, kicked seats and attempted to open an emergency exit. (Mission Local)

⚖️ Court interpreters staged a half-day walkout last week over stalled contract negotiations. (Sfist)

🎪 Club Fugazi's "Dear San Francisco" is celebrating five years of dazzling audiences with acrobatics, live music and a love letter to the city's history, culture and quirky spirit. (NBC Bay Area)

The people, places and traditions around you make this community home. Our reporting helps you stay connected to them and understand what's changing.

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Ballhalla is always loud, but the crowd seem to reach new levels on Saturday.

• The Valks needed every ounce of support, pulling out a tight back-and-forth game in the closing minute to take Game 1 by four points.

😮‍💨 Four points have rarely felt so hard-earned. One win closer to a championship!

🏀 What's next: The Valks face the Atlanta Dream again today at 5pm.

👻 Nadia's Halloween decorations are finally up.

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.