CNN
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Flu surged in the U.S. after Thanksgiving, resulting in the worst week of the season hitting the county even earlier. It has been reported before, and the number of cases surged in much the same way.
new data The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there have been at least 13 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 7,300 flu deaths so far this season.
The latest update collects data through December 3rd, the first full week after Thanksgiving. With the flu season raging early and indicating a sustained high level of respiratory virus activity nationwide, health officials warn: Gather indoors on holidays It can lead to an increasing number of cases.
All but seven states are reporting “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity, according to the CDC. States with moderate, low, or minimal activity are Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.
About 26 people per 100,000 are hospitalized with influenza. This percentage hasn’t been this high at this point in the season for over a decade.
About 26,000 people were hospitalized with the flu last week, filling about 6,000 more beds than the week before. About a quarter of lab tests last week were positive for the flu, and nearly 1 in 10 of him was due to pneumonia, flu, or Covid-19.
Data from Walgreens, which tracks prescriptions for Tamiflu and other flu drugs, suggests that a flu hotspot has spread from El Paso to southwestern Virginia.
Although last year’s flu season was relatively mild, the number of flu illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths reported so far this season has already exceeded the total recorded for the entire last season.
Hospitals are now more full than they were during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a CNN analysis of US Department of Health and Human Services data.
Nearly 80% of hospital beds are occupied nationwide, up 8% in the past two weeks.
Hospitals will be required to report capacity information beginning mid-2020 as part of federal efforts to track the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hospitals were more than 70% full for most of the time. But they were only 80% full at one point he another. That was his January when his Omicron surged in the US. In January, about a quarter of hospital beds were used for his Covid-19 patients. However, only about 6% of beds are currently being used for Covid-19 patients, according to HHS data.
In a statement Friday, Nancy Foster, vice president of quality and patient safety at the American Hospital Association, said the influx of flu patients was the main reason hospitals were overwhelmed, but the respiratory syncytial virus and people are also facing the disease of who deferred care during the pandemic.
“Workforce shortages are not only making it more difficult for hospitals, they are also reducing the number of patients who can be cared for in nursing homes and other post-acute care settings,” the statement said. “Patients are therefore spending more time in hospitals awaiting discharge to the next level of care, limiting our ability to provide beds for those who really need hospitalization.”
