Key indicators of seasonal flu exercise declined in the primary week of the yr, signaling a attainable reprieve from the high levels of respiratory virus transmission this season—however the dip could solely be short-term.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched its newest flu knowledge for the week ending on January 6. Outpatient visits for influenza-like sicknesses (ILI) have been down that week, the primary decline after weeks of fast will increase. Flu take a look at positivity and hospitalizations have been additionally down barely.
But transmission is still elevated across the nation. Fourteen states have ILI exercise on the “very high” degree in the present knowledge, down from 22 the week earlier than. And 23 states have “high” exercise degree, up from 19 the week earlier than. (You can see the week-by-week development of this yr’s flu season in the US right here.)
The CDC says it’s monitoring for “a second interval of elevated influenza exercise that always happens after the winter holidays.”
Flu is not the one virus that appears to be letting up a little bit in the info, no less than for now. COVID-19 knowledge additionally confirmed some dips, with the CDC reporting that “Despite take a look at positivity (share of checks performed that have been constructive), emergency division visits, and hospitalizations remaining elevated nationally, the charges have stabilized, or in some cases decreased, after a number of weeks of continuous improve.”
The CDC speculates that among the declines in indicators could possibly be resulting from individuals not looking for medical care through the holidays as they’d in any other case. COVID-19 wastewater exercise levels stay “very high,” with all areas displaying high or rising levels. The South and Midwest have the best levels in the most recent knowledge, however there are some early indications that rises in the Midwest and Northeast could also be slowing down.
Meanwhile, RSV exercise stays elevated, although some areas are beginning to see declines.
The CDC notes that it isn’t too late to get vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19, flu, and (for these ages 60 and over) RSV. So far, 21 p.c of adults have acquired the 2023–2024 COVID-19 vaccine, together with 41.5 p.c of individuals ages 65 and up. Around 363,000 individuals have died from COVID-19 in the US since September.
For flu, about 47 p.c of adults have acquired their annual shot, together with 74 p.c of individuals ages 65 and up. On Thursday, researchers in Canada revealed the primary estimates of flu vaccine effectiveness this season, discovering the present annual photographs are 61 p.c efficient in opposition to the most typical pressure of flu circulating in the US (influenza A(H1N1)pdm09) and 49 p.c efficient in opposition to the much less widespread influenza A(H3N2) and 75 p.c efficient in opposition to influenza B.
The CDC estimates that there have been no less than 14 million flu instances, 150,000 hospitalizations, and 9,400 deaths from flu up to now this season up to now, the company reported. In the primary week of this yr, 13 kids died of flu, bringing this season’s complete to 40.