Flu Emergency Room Visits Now "Very High" Nationwide, CDC Says

The CDC reports that flu-related emergency room visits have reached "very high" levels nationwide, with some Western states surpassing last year's peak. This year’s influenza wave aligns with pre-pandemic patterns but is significantly more severe in certain regions. For instance, Oregon hospitals treated over 1,100 flu cases in November and December 2024, compared to 251 in the same months in 2023.

Unlike 2022’s "tripledemic" of RSV, flu, and COVID-19, experts predict this season’s overlap of respiratory illnesses will be less severe. Updated CDC modeling suggests the current COVID-19 wave will remain smaller than previous surges, aided by the absence of a major immune-escape variant. Read more from CBS here.