Where the flu is surging
More US states now report “very high” levels of the deadly “super flu.”
CDC data for the week ending December 27 shows 32 states, up from 22.
Highest activity areas
CDC level 13 was given to Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York City, New York state, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Colorado, New Mexico and Idaho.
New York state logged just over 72,000 flu cases in the week of December 20.
One in four of those cases were in New York City.
Hospital strain and testing
About 4,550 people were hospitalized in New York in the week of December 27.
That is 24 percent more than the prior week, NYSDH said.
No states now have “minimal” activity, and only Montana and Vermont are “low.”
One in three flu tests were positive in the week of December 27.
That is up 21 percent from one in four the week before.
It is also a 76 percent surge from this time last year.
Deaths, strain, and warnings
Pediatric flu deaths rose, bringing the season total to nine.
The hospitalization rate hit 28 per 100,000, up from 18 per 100,000.
CDC said the 2025-2026 season reached “moderate severity” for the first time.
Hospitals are bringing back Covid-era visitor limits and mask mandates.
The strain is H3N2 subclade K, which experts link to the rise.
CDC estimates at least 11 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.
One recent pediatric death was 16-year-old Ryleigh Spurlock of Ohio.
She saw a doctor December 23 with “ordinary flu symptoms,” then died December 28.
“She went from a 98.5 temperature to a 105, she went septic, she had double pneumonia, all within 24 hours, all from the flu, and it doesn’t make sense.”
“The best way to reduce flu risk during and after the holidays is to limit exposure where possible.”