U.S. flu hospitalizations have reached their highest level for this point in the season since 2010, even as overall activity stays relatively low nationwide, CDC data show.
ABC News reported Friday that a fresh Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update puts the flu hospitalization rate at its highest mark for this time of year since the 2010 season.
Positive flu tests, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations have been climbing since late August and early September. The rate for this week remains low in absolute terms, yet it is the highest for a comparable week since the 2009-10 season, the year of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
Most of the country is still seeing only low or minimal flu activity. Louisiana and Hawaii are the exceptions, with moderate levels. Older adults face the steepest risk.
Adults older than 65 have the highest hospitalization rates, followed by adults ages 50 to 64 and children ages 0 to 4. That ordering matches the groups long known to suffer the worst complications when flu spreads.
Walgreens data, drawn from tests, prescription antivirals, and over-the-counter cold and flu purchases, suggest activity is running about four weeks ahead of recent seasons. States showing some of the highest levels by those measures include California, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, and Washington.
Pharmacy trends point the same direction. Sales of common cold and flu products are up 17% year over year. Cough drops rose 13%. Tea bags climbed 18%. At-home COVID and flu tests increased 11%.
Flu viruses change constantly, and the CDC is tracking notable mutations that could affect illness. Officials have not declared any clear impact yet.
The agency put the uncertainty in plain terms:
"It is too early to know what viruses may predominate or to say whether there might be implications [for] flu vaccine effectiveness this season,"
the CDC said in the update tied to its FluView surveillance report.
Even so, the CDC continues to recommend that everyone 6 months and older get an annual flu vaccine. Adults 65 and older are eligible for a higher-dose version. Prescription antiviral drugs remain available to shorten and ease illness when started early.
The numbers describe a season moving earlier than usual, not a runaway crisis. Hospital pressure is highest where it always hits first, among the elderly, while most states still report quiet conditions. Families and local clinics can treat that as a cue to prepare, not a reason to panic.
Common sense still works: watch the vulnerable, use the tools on hand, and skip the hype until the data earn it.
