Doctor visits for flu-like symptoms – fever, sore throat, extreme fatigue and body aches – have reached their highest levels in nearly 30 years, according to data Centers for Disease Control and Preventionand will likely continue to rise in the coming weeks. At least 5,000 people have died this season, including nine children.
For the week ending December 27, the CDC reported that nearly 1 in 10 outpatient visits nationwide (8.2%) were for influenza-like illness. This the highest recorded rate since the CDC began tracking such visits in 1997. The flu has caused more than 11 million illnesses and 120,000 hospitalizations this season.
45 states have high or very high levels of influenza activity.
Only Montana, South Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia are experiencing low to moderate flu spread. Data for Nevada was “insufficient,” the agency said.
As the latest figures cover the week of Christmas, they do not yet reflect illnesses caused by holiday travel and gatherings.
“It's too early to tell what impact the holiday season will have on flu activity,” said Krista Kniss, an epidemiologist for the CDC's influenza division. “We're not close to finishing yet.”
Dr. Nick Cozzi, director of emergency medical services at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said the flu is keeping his team “incredibly busy.”
“I see a lot of patients coming in with cough, runny nose, shortness of breath, diarrhea and stabbing body aches,” he said.
The problem is compounded by the fact that many patients are dealing with other viruses such as Covid or RSV“Beyond the flu,” Cozzi said.
A significant number of patients also experience breathing problems, he said. “We are seeing more patients than usual,” he said. “Their oxygen levels are below normal, creating a potential life-threatening situation if they do not receive supplemental oxygen.”
At Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, flu-related hospitalizations have more than doubled in the past two weeks compared with the previous two-week period, said Dr. Emily Boss, director of pediatric otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
“This increase occurred about a month earlier than last year,” Boss said. “We don’t yet know what the peak will look like compared to previous seasons.”
HHS no longer recommends flu shots for all children
The 2025-2026 flu season, which is just beginning, follows the deadliest season for children since the CDC began tracking childhood deaths. On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an additional child death last season, bringing the total to 289, surpassing even the number of child deaths from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
It's too early to tell how difficult this season will be for children, although under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the United States no longer recommends annual flu shots for all children.
On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced major revision of the childhood vaccination schedule. The administration said that from now on, the flu vaccine will be removed from the official childhood vaccination schedule.
“Rejecting flu recommendations in the middle of a pretty bad flu year seems pretty tone-deaf to me,” Dr. Sean O'Leary, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on infectious diseases, said on a call with reporters. “And this comes after a flu year in which we had the highest number of childhood flu deaths in many years.”
As of Monday afternoon CDC website still stated, “Everyone 6 months and older, with few exceptions, should get a flu shot.”
