Flu activity appears to be declining slightly in central and south-central states but is still highest in these regions, according to the CDC's April 1 FluView report.
Eight CDC updates:
1. For the week ending March 26, 2,820 lab-confirmed flu patients were hospitalized, up from 2,733 the week before. The cumulative hospitalization rate was 7.2 per 100,000, up from 6.5 per 100,000 the prior week.
2. No states reported very high flu activity. New Mexico reported high activity. Four states (Oklahoma, Utah, Kansas and New Hampshire) reported moderate flu activity. Five states (Texas, Idaho, Colorado, Arkansas and West Virginia) reported low activity. Remaining states reported minimal flu activity. Washington, D.C., did not report sufficient data.
3. One pediatric flu death was reported for the week ending March 26, bringing the cumulative pediatric flu-related deaths this season to 14.
4. Of all specimens tested in a clinical lab, 6.5 percent were positive for the flu for the week ending March 26, down from 7.7 percent the previous week.
5. The percentage of visits to an outpatient provider for respiratory illness was 1.8 percent for the week ending March 26, the same as the previous week. This is below the national baseline of 2.5 percent.
6. Nationwide, 0.7 percent of long-term care facilities reported more than one flu-positive test among residents, the same as the week prior.
7. The national flu, pneumonia and/or COVID-19 mortality rate is 8.3 percent, which sits above the epidemic threshold of 7.1 percent. Among the 1,540 deaths reported for the week, 750 had COVID-19 and 27 had the flu listed as an underlying or contributing cause of death. This indicates the current death rate for pneumonia, influenza and COVID-19 is primarily due to COVID-19, the CDC said.
8. The CDC estimates there have been at least 3.5 million flu illnesses, 34,000 hospitalizations and 2,000 flu-related deaths so far this season.