Flu Season Takes a Toll: What's Happening and Why?

The CDC has labeled the 2025-26 flu season as "moderately severe." This is a significant increase from last year's numbers. So far, there have been:

• 11 million illnesses
• 120,000 hospitalizations
• 5,000 deaths

Last year, the numbers were much lower.

Reasons for the Surge

Experts point to several factors contributing to this surge:

• Holiday travel
• Low vaccination rates
• Misinformation

The flu is expected to continue spreading for several more weeks.

Dominant Strain

The dominant strain this year is Influenza A(H3N2), making up over 91% of the flu cases. Out of 389 samples collected since September:

• 90.5% belong to a specific variant called subclade K

Hospital Pressures

Hospitals are under significant pressure. In the last week of December:

• 33,301 flu patients were admitted
• This is a sharp increase from earlier weeks
• Outpatient visits for respiratory illnesses are up, making up 8.2% of all healthcare visits

Pediatric Deaths

The flu has claimed nine pediatric lives this season. The CDC reported one more flu-related pediatric death last week.

Vaccine Mismatch

There is a mismatch between the vaccine and the circulating strains. However, experts still recommend getting vaccinated as it can reduce the risk of severe disease. So far, about 130 million doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed this season.