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Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 Profile picture
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Feb 17 • 4 tweets • 4 min read
1. #Flu activity is at low levels now in most of the country, but the percentage of visits to health providers that are for flu-like illnesses is still limping along just above the epidemic threshold level for the 4th week in a row.
A 🧵
2. #H3N2 viruses, which have been dominant all season, have really declined. In the week ending Feb. 11, #H1N1 viruses made up the bulk of the illness-causing viruses. There's an uptick in #fluB viruses, but they make up a very small proportion of viruses so far this season.
3. @CDCgov was informed of another 5 pediatric #flu deaths last week, bringing the season total to 111. Unfortunately this number will likely continue to climb for a bit.
This graph is mine — shows how this season's pediatric flu deaths compare to previous seasons.
4. New Mexico, NYC and DC are the last places with high #flu activity.
Now we wait to see if there's a #fluB bump in the spring.
FluView is here: cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

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More from @HelenBranswell

Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 Profile picture
Feb 10
1. #Flu activity in most parts of the country is now low, @CDCgov reports in its latest FluView update, for the week ending Feb. 4. For the 3rd week in a row the rate of outpatient visits that are for flu-like illnesses has hovered just above the epidemic threshold. Image
2. That said, most of the country is reporting minimal or low activity. NYC, NM and Puerto Rico are outliers on that. You can find the FluView report here: cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ind… Image
3. Another 9 pediatric #flu deaths have been reported to @CDCgov, bringing the season's total to 106 so far. The days of low pediatric flu deaths are clearly over. This total is in the low end of the range of what was seen in flu seasons before Covid.
graph = mine, data ex CDC. Image
Read 4 tweets
Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 Profile picture
Feb 3
1. #Flu activity continues to decline across the US, though the percentage of outpatient visits for #influenza-like activity is hovering just over the epidemic threshold. There's always a chance of more flu, especially flu B, but for now the big wave is pretty much done.
A 🧵
2. #Flu outbreaks reported from long-term care facilities has dropped down considerably, a sign there's less flu circulating. Those are the folks who are most vulnerable, so this is a good thing.
3. The other highly vulnerable population is young kids. @CDCgov was notified of 6 additional pediatric #flu deaths in the week ending Jan. 28; they bring the season total to 97 so far. Sad to see pediatric flu deaths heading back towards pre-Covid levels.
(chart=mine)
Read 4 tweets
Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 Profile picture
Jan 27
1. A #flu 🧵:
Activity continued its sharp decline in the week ending Jan 21. It's barely over the epidemic threshold at this point nationally; in 6 regions it's below it. But for the fact that we've seen little #fluB activity, it would be tempting to guess flu season is over. Image
2. But virtually all — 99.5% — of the #flu activity so far this season has been caused by flu A. There hasn't been much flu B since the first half of the 2019-20 season. In the Before Times, it was common to see flu B in late winter, early spring. This year? Ask me in June.
3. This #flu season took off like a bat outta hell in October, peaking Thanksgiving week. Activity reached a high apex, but the drop off has been swift. The image on the left shows #influenza-like illness the week ending Jan. 7. On the right, the week ending Jan. 21. ImageImage
Read 7 tweets
Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 Profile picture
Jan 20
1. Time for a #flu 🧵
#Influenza A, which started circulating at high levels earlier this season than in any season since the 2009 #H1N1 pandemic, is declining as quickly as it climbed. In several parts of the country, doctor visits for flu-like illness are below epidemic levels.
2. It is truly remarkable to see the map of #flu-like activity show so little red in the 2nd week of Jan. It is like this year's flu season shifted forward 2 months or so.
Last week on the left. Same week in 2018, on the right, as the 2017-18 season started to take off.
3. Canada is seeing the same phenomenon, reports @BogochIsaac, who raises a key question: Virtually all the #flu activity so far has been #influenza A. Do we have a flu B wave in store? Pre-Covid, flu B often hit late in the season, after flu A had moved through. Will it this yr?
Read 7 tweets
Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 Profile picture
Jan 13
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.
Read 6 tweets
Helen Branswell 🇺🇦 Profile picture
Jan 6
1. A #flu thread:
US activity continued to decline in the week ending Dec. 31. The current wave of flu — caused exclusively by flu A viruses — has peaked. In pre-Covid times, it was common to see a second peak with flu B late in the season, March-ish. Will that happen in 2023? 🤷‍♀️
2. Another 13 children have died from #flu this year. These deaths bring the 2022-23 total to 74. Too high, but still low by pre-Covid standards, when 100 to 200 pediatric deaths were reported/year. The new deaths occurred over 9 weeks but were reported to @CDCgov last week.
3. The drop off in outpatient visits for #influenza-like illnesses has been happening primarily in kids, teens & young adults, the age groups that have fueled this fall & early winter's sharp peak of #flu activity.
Read 5 tweets

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