This US Flu Season Is Seeing The Most Doctor’s Visits For Respiratory Illness Since 2010

In the update, the organization stated that 7.8 percent of doctor’s visits reported through a flu surveillance network in the week ending February 1 were for respiratory illnesses with flu-like symptoms. That’s the highest seen since the 2009-2010 season, when the swine flu pandemic was active.

There’s an important caveat to this data, however; not everyone showing flu-like symptoms will actually have the flu. They could have other respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which are also circulating in the US. 

On the other hand, that doesn’t mean flu cases aren’t high. Not every visit to the doctor is reported to the CDC, not every potential case of flu is tested, and not everyone who does have the flu will visit a doctor about it. That means there could be more flu cases than the CDC data reflects.

At present, the agency estimates that there have been “at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 deaths from flu so far this season.” The number of illnesses might even be as high as 41 million, though this is a preliminary figure that may change over time with further data.

The situation may continue to intensify too, with the CDC noting upward trends in positive flu tests, patients admitted to hospital with flu, and the number of deaths attributed to flu. Some places in the US have seen school closures due to the high number of cases. 

Experts agree that this year’s season, while not yet officially a record-breaker, does seem to be an intense one. “This is at least as bad as anything we’ve seen [in recent memory],” Dr Mark Rupp, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told TIME.

“Our hospital has really had a steady volume of flu (patients) getting admitted. I can’t remember it really being this steady for this long without tapering off,” Dr Joseph Khabbaza, a critical care pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, told TODAY.com. “I’m also seeing more patients with the flu ending up in the ICU, needing oxygen or ventilators, than the usual flu season.”

What’s less clear is why it’s been quite so bad, though some have pointed the finger towards the presence of flu variants associated with a higher mortality rate, as well as a decline in vaccination rates. 

“The common trend I’m seeing in patients with severe influenza is that they are unvaccinated,” said Dr Linda Yancey, an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, speaking to TODAY.com. 

The CDC recommends that everyone above the age of 6 months get an annual flu vaccine, as it reduces the risk of flu and the development of serious complications from it. According to the agency, the rate of flu vaccination in adults this season has so far remained the same as the last, standing at 45 percent, though it has declined from 50.2 to 45.7 percent in children.