Just as many Americans prepare to gather for Thanksgiving, flu tests, and related visits and hospitalizations may be on the upswing. COVID-19 cases also are slightly increasing, according to new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
During the week ending Nov. 11, outpatient visits for respiratory illness totaled 3.5%, which was above the national baseline for the second week straight. Positive flu tests were at 4%, up from 3% the week prior. A breakdown of strains showed that 75.8% were influenza A and 24.2% were influenza B. Of subtypes, 87.2% were the 2009 H1N1 strain. In the week alone, 2,721 people were hospitalized for it.
This season so far, there have been about 780,000 to 1.6 million cases of the flu and about 8,000 people hospitalized from it. Areas reporting high flu activity include Alabama, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina. Louisiana reported very high flu activity in the state.
According to estimates, 57.6% of older adults have received their flu shots as well as 35% of adults in other age groups. About 32.6% of children received their flu vaccines, the CDC data showed.
COVID-19 cases climbing
While cases of COVID-19 generally have gone down since autumn started, they increased by 0.1% for the week ending Nov. 11, according to CDC data. Emergency department visits jumped by 7.1% for the week.
Hospitalizations increased by 8.6% compared to the previous week, with more than 16,000 people hospitalized for COVID-19 . Deaths from COVID-19 were up 9.1% from the previous week, the data showed.
Hospitalization rates for COVID-19 are going up in infants and for older adults. Some counties in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana have a notably high level of hospitalization rates.
The CDC said that older adults have the highest level of getting COVID-19 vaccines, with 31.7% getting the vaccine. Of adults, 14.8% got updated vaccines while 5.4% of children are up to date on COVID-19 vaccines.
Healthcare workers were more apt to get the flu shot over the COVID-19 vaccine this year. Hospital workers specifically were less likely to get the flu shot after the pandemic rather than before it, according to two recent studies conducted by CDC research groups published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
