Yep, The Flu Is Worse Than It’s Been In 15 Years

When it comes to viruses, winter is always a tough time of year. While handwashing and getting annual flu and Covid shots can help to keep you and your family healthy, unfortunately there’s nothing you can do to avoid it completely short of moving to the Southern Hemisphere between December and March. And when it comes to viruses, some years are just worse than others depending on how those illnesses have mutated. It turns out that in the U.S. this is the most intense flu season we’ve had in 15 years. Lucky us!

According to data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of doctor’s visits prompted by flu-like symptoms is the highest it's been since the winter of 2009/2010. This isn’t to say that all of those cases are influenza, per se, but “flu-like” can be just as miserable to someone going through it. The CDC estimates that actual flu numbers are also quite high at about 24 million flu illnesses. While most people will recover from the flu within a week, it can still be a serious and even deadly illness.

This year alone, the CDC reports 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths. While most of this cohort are elderly, at least 57 children have succumbed to the virus in the 2024/2025 season, and there are still about three months to go. (While the flu can occur any time throughout the year, October to May is considered flu season. Infections typically peak around February.)

Ten states — Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — and New York City are experiencing the most flu activity in the country, per reporting from the Washington Post. Some schools have even had to close on account of rampant flu outbreaks.

But there is some good news. Other serious and pervasive winter illnesses like Covid-19 and RSV appear to be tracking lower than usual, though on account of the Trump administration’s communication pause for health organizations at the end of January this isn’t entirely clear just yet.

So until this miserable flu season ends, stock up on hand soap and masks and, if you haven’t already, make sure you and your children are up to date on your flu shot.