So far, there have been at least 2 million estimated flu cases, 20,000 flu hospitalizations and 1,200 deaths this season, according to the CDC's FluView report published Jan. 28.
Seven other CDC updates:
1. New Mexico reported very high flu activity, the highest level as categorized by the CDC. Eleven states reported high flu activity, six reported moderate activity and 10 reported low activity. Twenty-two states reported minimal flu activity, while Washington, D.C., reported insufficient data.
2. The percentage of visits to an outpatient provider for respiratory illness was 2.8 percent for the week ending Jan. 22, down from 3.5 percent the previous week and above the national baseline of 2.5 percent.
3. For the week ending Jan. 22, 971 lab-confirmed flu patients were hospitalized, down from the week prior. The cumulative hospitalization rate was 4.3 per 100,000 population, up from 3.9 per 100,000 the prior week.
4. Of all specimens tested in a clinical lab, 1.9 percent were positive for flu virus for the week ending Jan. 22, up from 1.8 percent the previous week. The stability indicates flu virus circulation has remained at similar levels over the past two weeks, even as overall levels of respiratory illness have declined, according to the CDC.
5. Nationwide, 0.8 percent of long-term care facilities reported more than one flu-positive test among residents for the week, down from 1 percent the previous week.
6. The national flu, pneumonia and/or COVID-19 mortality rate is 28.4 percent, which sits above the epidemic threshold of 7.1 percent. Among the 5,940 deaths reported for the week, 5,160 had COVID-19 and 27 had flu listed as an underlying or contributing cause of death.
7. No flu-associated pediatric deaths occurred during the week ending Jan. 22. A total of five pediatric flu deaths occurring during the 2021-22 season have been reported to CDC.