Flu Cases Reach Alarmingly High Levels
Visits to doctors for flu-like symptoms—like fevers, sore throats, fatigue, and body aches—are at the highest they’ve been in nearly three decades, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This trend is likely to keep escalating in the weeks ahead. Unfortunately, at least 5,000 individuals have died this flu season, with nine of those being children.
For the week ending December 27, the CDC noted that nearly 1 in 10 outpatient visits (specifically, 8.2%) were due to flu-like illnesses. This is the highest percentage recorded since the CDC began tracking these visits in 1997. This season, flu has led to over 11 million illnesses and around 120,000 hospitalizations.
Currently, 45 states are experiencing elevated levels of flu activity, sometimes classified as high to very high.
Only Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia are seeing low to moderate flu levels, while data for Nevada was deemed insufficient by the agency.
Since the latest data comes from the Christmas week, it doesn’t yet capture the illnesses that might arise from holiday travel and gatherings.
Krista Kniss, an epidemiologist in the CDC’s influenza division, commented, “It’s still too soon to know the full impact of the holiday season on flu activity. We’re definitely not close to being done.”
Dr. Nick Cozzi, who leads emergency medical services at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, stated that the flu is keeping his team extremely busy.
“I see many patients coming in with symptoms like cough, runny nose, shortness of breath, diarrhea, and severe body aches,” he mentioned.
Compounding the flu situation, many patients are also dealing with other infections, such as COVID-19 or RSV, Cozzi pointed out.
He added that many patients are struggling with breathing issues. “We’re admitting patients at a higher rate than usual, and their oxygen levels are lower than they should be, which can pose serious risks without supplemental oxygen,” he explained.
At Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, the number of flu hospitalizations doubled in the last two weeks compared to the prior two-week period, noted Dr. Emily Boss, who heads pediatric otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
“This increase is happening about a month earlier than last year,” she said. “We’re still uncertain about how the peak will compare with previous seasons.”
Changes in Flu Vaccination Recommendations
The current flu season, which is just beginning, follows the deadliest season for children since the CDC began tracking pediatric deaths. The CDC recently reported one additional death last season, bringing the total to 289, a tally that surpasses even the number of pediatric deaths during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
It’s too early to ascertain how severe this season will be for children, but under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s guidance, the U.S. no longer recommends that all children receive annual flu vaccinations.
On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a major change to the childhood vaccination schedule. Effective immediately, flu vaccines will no longer be included in the official childhood vaccination recommendations.
Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on infectious diseases, expressed concern: “It seems rather tone-deaf to dial back on a flu recommendation during such a severe flu year. This follows an influenza year with the highest pediatric deaths we’ve seen in years.”
As of Monday afternoon, the CDC’s website still advised: “Everyone aged 6 months and older, with rare exceptions, should get a flu vaccine.”
