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NEW YORK \u2014 The U.S. flu season keeps getting worse.<\/p>\n
Health officials said Friday that 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flu-like illnesses. That’s as high as the peak of the 2017-18 flu season and higher than any season since.<\/p>\n
The annual winter flu season usually doesn\u2019t get going until December or January, but this one began early and has been complicated by the simultaneous spread of other viruses.<\/p>\n
The measure of traffic in doctor’s offices is based on reports of symptoms like coughs and sore throats, not on lab-confirmed diagnoses. So it may include other respiratory illnesses.<\/p>\n
Download Modern Healthcare\u2019s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.<\/em><\/p>\n That makes it hard to compare to flu seasons from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Other years also didn’t have this year’s unusually strong wave of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be serious for infants and the elderly.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, 44 states reported high or very high flu activity last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.<\/p>\n That may not bode well for the near future. It’s likely there was more spread of respiratory viruses during Thanksgiving gatherings and at crowded airports, experts say.<\/p>\n The dominant flu strain so far is the kind typically associated with higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths, particularly in people 65 and older.<\/p>\n The CDC estimates there have been at least 78,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths from flu so far this season. The deaths include at least 14 children.<\/p>\n Flu shots are recommended for nearly all Americans who are at least 6 months old or older.<\/p>\n