(NEW YORK) — Outpatient health care visits for flu illnesses are at their highest levels in 15 years, according to data updated Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly 8% of outpatient health care visits for respiratory illnesses are due to flu-like illness, which is the highest seen since the 2009-10 flu season, during the swine flu pandemic, data shows.
During the week ending Feb. 1, 8% of emergency department visits were due to flu compared with 3.2% the same time last year, according to the CDC data.
Additionally, 31.6% of tests came back positive for flu during the week ending Feb. 1 compared to a peak of 18.2% last season, CDC data shows.
“Given the sharp rise [of flu illnesses] particularly among young children and in key regions like New York City, this is a stark reminder of how unpredictable flu seasons can be,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.
“With [influenza-like illness] rates exceeding 10% in several states and hospitalization rates climbing in older adults, this wave could put significant pressure on our health systems in the coming weeks,” he added.
What’s more, the rate of people dying from flu is now equal to the rate of people dying from COVID-19, likely for the first time since the COVID pandemic began.
The CDC estimates there have been at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths from flu so far this season.
At least 57 pediatric flu deaths have been reported so far this season, with 10 reported during the week ending Feb. 1.
Flu vaccines are available for both children and adults, but vaccination coverage remains low, meaning “many children and adults lack protection from respiratory virus infections provided by vaccines,” according to the CDC.
Data shows only 45% of adults aged 18 and older have been vaccinated against flu this season as have 45.7% of children.
CDC data also shows that overall respiratory illness activity is listed as “very high” nationwide. Currently, 12 states are listed as “very high” and 19 states are listed as “high.”
By comparison, seven states were listed as “very high” and 20 states were listed as “high” last week.
Although COVID-19 activity is “elevated” in many areas of the U.S., CDC data shows emergency department visits are at low levels and the number of laboratory tests coming back positive is falling.
Respiratory syncytial virus activity was also described as “elevated” but declining in most areas of the U.S., according to the CDC.
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