Deadly flu season: CDC reports more deaths from flu than COVID in recent weekly data
The number of deaths due to the flu has surpassed the number of deaths from the coronavirus, according to weekly data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC.
According to the partial data, 2% of the deaths in the U.S. for the week ending in Feb. 1 were due to influenza, or the flu. That same week, 1.5% of deaths in the nation were due to COVID. The numbers are posted weekly.
That week, public health labs reported 4,377 viruses to the CDC, and 4,264 of them were the flu.
The CDC said that this season, the agency estimates there have been at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 deaths from the flu so far.
Recently, ten pediatric deaths associated with seasonal influenza were reported, bringing the 2024-2025 season total to 57 pediatric deaths, the CDC said.
Recent CDC data also shows that influenza levels in the U.S. have risen to the highest levels they have been in 15 years.
Flu season: Have the flu or know someone with it? Flu cases surge to highest levels in 15 years, CDC says
Emergency department visits down for COVID
The CDC also releases a community snapshot that categorizes data by severity. Rankings include minimal, low, moderate, high, and very high.
As of Friday, overall respiratory illness activity in the U.S. is very high, seasonal flu activity is 'elevated and continues to increase across the country,' while COVID activity is 'elevated in many areas of the country.'
The CDC added that while Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is declining in most parts of the nation.
Among other findings in the community snapshot are emergency department visits due to the flu and other illnesses.
According to the CDC, emergency department visits in the U.S. due to COVID are decreasing, while ER visits due to the flu are increasing. Visits due to RSV are also decreasing.
'When levels are high, it may indicate that infections are making people sick enough to require treatment,' the CDC said.
How the flu, COVID, and other illnesses have impacted students
Illnesses have led to school closures across the country, including at least 16 schools in southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, reported the Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY network.
Hospital admissions for the flu have exceeded the number of admissions over the past three years, a spokesperson for the Northern Kentucky Health Department told the outlet.
And also in Kentucky, a child died from the flu for the first time this year, reported the Louisville Courier Journal, also part of the USA TODAY network. Health officials said the child had not received a flu vaccine this season.
'Unfortunately, viruses like influenza and COVID-19 are serious diseases that can be deadly to some people, including children,' Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Department for Public Health, told the outlet. 'Vaccination is the best way to prevent severe illness and death.'
Contributing: Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer; Killian Baarlaer, Louisville Courier Journal
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
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