Everett, WA school closed Friday due to excessive flu cases

Flu outbreak shuts down Everett, WA school as cases rise statewide

Northshore Christian Academy in Everett canceled classes and closed for deep cleaning after a flu outbreak left some classrooms nearly empty.

EVERETT, Wash. - A K-8 school in Everett announced it would be closed on Friday, Jan. 16 due to excessive flu cases.

What we know:

The Northshore Christian Academy said it will be taking a "medical day" on Friday due to staffing shortages caused by flu season.

A sign sits outside Northshore Christian Academy notifying families the school will be closed on Friday due to excessive flu cases.

"Due to the increased number of flu cases across campus and a current staffing shortage, school will be closed this Friday, 1/16 for a medical day," said Alexis Griffin, Upper Elementary Executive Assistant at Northshore Christian Academy, in an email sent to families.

The email goes on to say the school will conduct extensive deep cleaning in the meantime. The school will also not have classes on Monday in recognition of MLK Day, and on Tuesday.

Dig deeper:

In an exclusive tip to FOX 13 from a school parent, they said Tuesday’s fifth grade class only had one student in attendance due to the rising flu cases.

A tipster claims there was only one student in a 5th grade class at Northshore Christian Academy due to so many flu cases.

Dr. John Lynch, with UW Medicine's Infectious Diseases, said children are one group at the highest risk of becoming infected.

"What we're seeing right now is a lot of influenza in that zero to four-year-old age range, which is really a problem," said Lynch.

Flu vaccination rates are about 4% lower this season in Washington and Snohomish County compared to the 2024-2025 season, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

Health professionals said they believe Washington has yet to reach peak season of flu cases reported.

"Likely, the numbers we're seeing reported are underestimates of what's truly happening out there," said Dr. Lynch. "If what we see here is anything like what they're seeing on the East Coast, we're going to be looking at a pretty rough flu season, at least as bad and maybe worse than last year."

Health professionals said vaccination is the best protection from the virus, and they said it’s not too late in the season to get the shot.

"Actually, it's a great time because we’re on the upswing, but I expect it to continue to rise over the coming weeks," said Dr. James Lewis, health officer at the Snohomish County Health Department. "It will reduce your chance of having severe disease."

Local perspective:

The school closure comes after the Snohomish County Health Department declared a measles outbreak after three children recently tested positive for the highly-infectious disease.

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