Indicators show US flu and COVID activity rising

Flu activity continues to rise, and COVID-19 indicators are also starting to rise from very low levels, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly respiratory virus illness updates.

For flu, the test positivity rate rose to 5.1% at clinical labs last week, up from 3.5% the previous week, and it is increasing across 8 of 10 regions of the country. Emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization rates also rose, and outpatient visits for flulike illness are at 3.4% and are now above the national baseline. 

Six jurisdictions reported high activity, a measure of outpatient visits for flu: California, Oregon, Arizona, Louisiana, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

At public health labs, more than 97% of flu virus detections were influenza A, and, of subtyped samples, about 60% were H3N2 and nearly 40% were 2009 H1N1.

The highest hospitalization rate was in seniors. No new pediatric flu deaths were reported, keeping the season’s total at two.

COVID activity up from low levels

In its respiratory virus snapshot, the CDC said the overall respiratory virus illness level remains moderate for the second week in a row. The agency noted that COVID activity—as reflected by wastewater detections, ED visits, and test positivity—is starting to rise in some parts of the country from low levels. 

“We predict COVID-19 illness to increase in the coming weeks, as it usually does in the winter,” the CDC said.

Wastewater detections are still in the low range and are highest in the Midwest, followed by the West and the South.

We predict COVID-19 illness to increase in the coming weeks, as it usually does in the winter.

Meanwhile, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity continues to increase in most US regions, especially in young children, the CDC said. RSV-related ED visits and hospitalizations are rising in children, with hospitalizations on the rise in older adults in some areas.