Overview
- CDC surveillance estimates at least 4.6 million illnesses, about 49,000 hospitalizations and roughly 1,900 flu deaths so far this season.
- An H3N2 subclade K strain now dominates U.S. samples—about 89% of H3N2 sequences since late September—driving transmission without evidence of greater severity.
- New York reported 71,123 lab-confirmed cases in the week ending Dec. 20, a 38% jump, as flu hospitalizations there climbed 63% to 3,666 in seven days.
- Emergency physicians report crowded departments and note that state data can surface surges earlier when national reporting lags during holidays.
- Health officials urge vaccination for everyone 6 months and older plus masking in crowded indoor spaces, hand hygiene and staying away from sick contacts; last season 90% of pediatric flu deaths were unvaccinated.