On any day in December 2014, an average of 4 percent of Americans reported having the flu, according to Gallup — one of the highest rates of flu in the U.S. in the last seven years.
The all-time high flu rate was in January 2013, when an average of 4.7 percent of Americans reported having the flu.
Flu seasons typically peak in January or February, so this flu season could be one of the worst ever since Gallup started measuring the flu in 2008, according to Gallup.
As part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey, Gallup conducted telephone interviews each day in December asking adults if they had the flu "yesterday." The results of the survey are based on responses from 13,165 adults in the U.S. While this data is collected differently than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects data (the CDC tracks flu infections reported from physicians and hospitals), it mirrors the CDC's December data.
The survey also found that Hispanics and lower-income Americans are more likely than non-Hispanic blacks and whites and Americans with higher incomes to report having the flu, according to Gallup. Middle-aged adults were more likely to have the flu than people under 30 and those aged 65 or older.