Flu Continues to Spread Across the U.S., Infecting Millions, CDC Reports

Nov. 28, 2022, 4:34 PM MST
By Erika Edwards

The floodgates have opened on the flu, with millions of people across the U.S. reporting the illness and nearly 3,000 deaths from influenza since the beginning of October, according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the start of the holiday season and large family gatherings, cases are expected to keep rising.

“We are likely to see an increase in the upcoming weeks,” Lynnette Brammer, an epidemiologist and team lead of CDC’s domestic influenza surveillance team, told NBC News.

So far this season, an estimated 6.2 million flu illnesses have been logged, according to the latest CDC data.

Twelve of the influenza deaths occurred in children.

Of the samples reported to the CDC this season, about 76% are the H3N2 strain of influenza A. The rest are H1N1. Both versions of the flu can result in severe illness.

However, most flu patients sick enough to end up in the intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville have tested positive for H1N1, said Dr. Todd Rice, director of VUMC's medical intensive care unit.

"People don't have a good appreciation for how severe flu can be," said Brammer.

Flu barreled in unusually early this year, along with Covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which has inundated hospital systems. Several years of limited viral activity have resulted in few people with immune systems capable of fighting off the most virulent infectious diseases.

“We are dealing with three very contagious respiratory viruses,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator for the White House Covid-19 Task Force. “Our expectation is we are likely to see an increase in the upcoming weeks," particularly with influenza and Covid.

The surge in RSV, however, may have peaked, Jha said. "Nationally, the numbers do seem to be turning down," Jha said. "We'll want to see over the next couple of weeks where that goes. But the preliminary evidence right now is pretty hopeful."

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