1. A #flu 🧵
Flu activity continues to decline in most parts of the US.
Virtually all of the flu transmission so far has been influenza A, which means we could get some flu B activity later, in a smaller wave. That was not uncommon in flu years pre-Covid.
2. Then again, some years there's a single, sharp wave of flu activity and once it's done, we're done. That's what happened in 2017-2018, which was a severe flu season. (This season, so far, has not been a severe season. It has been an unusually early season.)
3. Five more kids have died from #flu, bringing the total to 79 to date. That's a shock after the first 2 years of the Covid pandemic when only 45 pediatric flu deaths were reported.
But 79 is still low compared to pre-Covid years. The big year (left) was the H1N1 pandemic.
4. One reason this #flu season hasn't been particularly severe relates to who has been getting sick: mainly kids, teens & young adults. As you can see, flu activity in those age groups has dropped off substantially. Activity in +65s, at highest risk from flu, has been modest.
5. Only 2 jurisdictions are still reporting very high flu activity, down from 12 the previous week. 14 are reporting moderate, 9 moderate & 8 minimal. Big changes.
6. You can see how the purple & deep red (very high activity) has come out of the map & how orange, yellow & even green are appearing. Extraordinary for early January.
Map on the left is week 47, when activity peaked. Right is week 1, ending Jan. 7.
cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ind…
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