One of the most intense flu seasons the U.S. has seen in years will continue to linger this spring, according to federal health officials.
There have already been at least 43 million illnesses, 560,000 hospitalizations and 24,000 deaths from seasonal influenza thus far, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including more than 150 pediatric deaths.
“Seasonal influenza (flu) activity remains elevated nationally but has decreased for five consecutive weeks,” the agency wrote in its latest update. “The season has peaked; however, flu-related medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths remain elevated, and CDC expects several more weeks of flu activity.”
While flu seasons typically taper as the temperature warms, the virus circulates year-round.
This is the first season classified as “high severity” since the 2017-18 season, when there was a record number of flu-associated deaths in children and more than 80,000 deaths overall.
A flu season is deemed high severity by looking at rates of hospitalizations, percentages of deaths and influenza-like illness visits and translating the data into intensity thresholds. Severity is classified as “high” if at least two indicators peak between mid-range and high-intensity thresholds.
The CDC notes that the cumulative hospitalization rate for this season is the highest it has seen since 2010 to 2011.
While many Americans expect flu season to end with the spring, experts say that isn’t the case.
“I think a lot of people have been acclimatized to relatively mild flu seasons the last several years, because the Covid-19 pandemic really disrupted the circulation of flu,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Nexstar.
“This season has been more on par with seasons that we saw pre-Covid. It’s sort of going back to resembling what we used to have in 2018-19, which people have long forgotten about,” he said.
Health officials in Oregon and elsewhere are telling residents to expect impacts into the spring– noting that it’s not too late to get a flu shot.
“People continue to be hospitalized with the flu, at a time of the year when Oregon flu activity traditionally begins to wind down,” the Oregon Health Authority said in a recent Facebook post.
“Late season surges are not uncommon, and Oregon’s flu season usually lasts well into April, sometimes May or even June,” it said. “So if you haven’t gotten your flu vaccine yet this season, it’s not too late!”
“We usually think about the flu shot as a fall activity, but as we’ve heard, the flu is still active in most communities and can remain active through April,” Indiana pharmacist Kelly Goode told WTHR. “The flu vaccine is not only the best safe and effective way to guard against flu, but also plays a crucial role in reducing the potential for other serious complications. So if you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, you should make plans to visit your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible.”
