Editor's note: Check out cold and flu activity in your location with the WebMD tracker.
January 9, 2023 – The number of recent flu infections within the United States continues to say no, as flu-related outpatient visits to doctor’s offices and hospitals declined for the fifth consecutive week at the tip of 2022, based on the newest data from the CDC.
While there may be excellent news, the variety of hospitalizations for influenza and flu-like illnesses has remained stable.
Outpatient visits for influenza-like illness accounted for five.4% of all health care provider visits through the week of Dec. 25-31, based on data from the CDC's Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network. That's down from 6.0% the previous week and from what appears to be a seasonal peak of seven.5% in late November, based on the newest data from the CDC's Influenza Division. FluView Report.
The CDC's surveillance network defines flu-like illness as fever plus cough or sore throat, not laboratory-confirmed flu, so the information also includes other respiratory illnesses corresponding to COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). However, the language within the FluView report makes it clear that the CDC's focus is on flu.
State-level data confirms the nationwide decline: During the week of Dec. 25-31, there have been only 12 jurisdictions with “very high” flu activity, down from 24 the week before. (The jurisdictions include the 50 states plus territories, New York City and the District of Columbia.) Another decline shows that the variety of metropolitan areas with very high activity dropped from 59 to 37, based on the CDC.
Despite the decline in outpatient visits, hospital admissions remained at about 19,000 for the second week in a row after a two-week decline, based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Protect platform.The proportion of flu-related deaths also showed no improvement. It was higher between December 25 and 31 (1.63%) than within the two previous weeks (1.53% and 1.6% respectively), based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics included within the CDC report.
The total variety of deaths thus far through the 2022-23 flu season is around 14,000, hospitalizations are at 230,000, and illnesses are around 22 million. Among the deaths reported last week, 13 were amongst children, and the full for the season is now 74, based on the CDC.