CNN
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Flu spikes across the United States after Thanksgiving, with the worst week hitting the county early. So far this season, more than a third of all flu hospitalizations and deaths have been reported in the past week alone, and cases can jump that much.
New data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show at least 13 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations and 7,300 deaths from the flu so far this season.
The latest update covers data up to December 3rd and is the first full week after Thanksgiving. It shows activity of the respiratory virus is high across the country during the early and severe flu season – and health officials have warned that gathering at home during the holiday season could lead to issues.
All but seven states are experiencing “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity, according to the CDC. States with medium, low, or low activity are Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.
There were about 26 flu hospitalizations per 100,000 people — the highest rate this season in more than a decade.
Last week, nearly 26,000 people were hospitalized for the flu, filling 6,000 more beds than the week before. About 1 in 4 laboratory tests were positive for the flu in the past week, and nearly 1 in 10 people died from pneumonia, influenza or Covid-19 — about 6 percent higher than the epidemic level.
According to data from Walgreens, which tracks Tamiflu and other flu treatments, flu outbreaks spread from El Paso to Southwest Virginia.
Last year’s flu season was relatively mild, but the number of reported flu-related illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths this season has surpassed last season’s total.
A CNN analysis of data from the US Department of Health and Human Services shows that hospitals are more full now than they were during the Covid-19 pandemic.
About 80% of hospital beds are being used nationally, jumping 8 percentage points in the past two weeks.
Hospitals must report capacity data starting in mid-2020 as part of a federal effort to monitor the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For most of the time, hospitals were over 70% full. But at only one other point were they 80% full: in January, during Omicron’s peak in the US. In January, a quarter of hospital beds were used for Covid-19 patients. But now, about 6% of beds are being used for Covid-19 patients, according to HHS data.
Nancy Foster, vice president for quality and patient safety at the American Hospital Association, said in a statement on Friday that the surge in flu patients is a key reason hospitals are filling up, but RSV and humans are also facing illness. Stop care during the epidemic.
“The labor shortage has not only made it more challenging for hospitals, but has reduced the number of patients in nursing homes and other post-acute care,” the statement said. “As a result, patients spend more time in hospitals, waiting to be discharged to the next level of care and limiting our ability to provide a bed for a patient who really needs to be hospitalized.”
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