Covid and flu rates rising in US, CDC says | Infectious diseases

The number of acute respiratory illnesses that cause Americans to seek health care is at a high level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In an update released Friday, the CDC announced that in addition to COVID-19 activity increasing from low levels in most parts of the United States, seasonal flu activity continues to increase. increasing and is high in most of the country.

The CDC predicts that Covid-19 rates will continue to rise in the coming weeks, as they typically do in winter. Between the week ending December 21, 2024 and the week ending December 28, 2024, the Covid-19 test positivity rate increased from 7% to 7.1% in the United States.

Meanwhile, the flu test positivity rate increased from 12% to 18.7% during this period. Influenza viruses A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) were the predominant viruses reported, the CDC said.

Additionally, the positivity rate for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is considered “very high” in many parts of the country, particularly among young children, the CDC said. He added that emergency room visits and hospitalizations are higher among children and hospitalization rates have increased among older adults in some areas.

Despite high rates of acute respiratory illnesses that drive people to seek health care, vaccination coverage for all three diseases remains low. According to the CDC, vaccination coverage against Covid-19 and influenza is low among both adults and children. Similarly, RSV vaccination coverage remains low among adults, the CDC said.

Overall, the CDC said, it expects the fall and winter virus season to see similar or lower peak combined hospitalizations for Covid-19, flu and RSV compared to to last year. However, peak hospitalization rates from all respiratory viruses likely remain much higher than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic, the report said.

As part of its fall and winter vaccination guidelines, the CDC recommends the seasonal flu vaccine and the 2024-25 Covid-19 vaccine for everyone six months and older. The agency added that vaccination is especially important for those at increased risk of severe illness, such as adults 65 and older, people with certain health conditions, nursing home residents and pregnant people. .

The agency also recommends that people who are immunocompromised or age 65 and older receive another dose of the 2024-25 Covid-19 vaccine six months after receiving their first dose.

Meanwhile, the agency recommends the RSV vaccine to protect adults 75 and older, adults between 60 and 74 with certain health conditions and those who live in nursing homes. Currently, older adults must receive the RSV vaccine once, not every year.

Last September, a study published by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that less than half of Americans planned to get vaccinated against Covid-19 in 2024, and just over half planned to get vaccinated. get vaccinated against the flu.