For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, influenza has surpassed COVID-19 as the deadliest respiratory illness in California, prompting hospitals to struggle with overwhelming patient numbers amid a surge in flu cases.
This spike in flu cases comes amidst historically low vaccination rates, with only 44 percent of adults and 46 percent of children receiving flu shots this season, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Our hospital is full to the brim,” Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told local news outlet San Francisco Chronicle. “Influenza seems to be everywhere,” he added.
At local clinics in the Bay Area, more than 70 percent of respiratory virus tests are now positive for influenza, surpassing cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), COVID-19 and the common cold. As of Feb. 1, flu test positivity rates hit 27.8 percent, while RSV cases dropped to 5 percent and COVID-19 remained at 2.4 percent, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Since July 1, California has reported at least 561 flu-related deaths, the majority of which are among individuals aged over 65. Additionally, there have been 10 pediatric flu deaths this season, compared to just three pediatric deaths linked to COVID-19 in the same period.
Nationwide, the CDC estimates that there were at least 29 million flu cases, 370,000 hospitalizations, and 16,000 deaths during the 2024-25 flu season as of Feb. 8.
, prompting hospitals to struggle with overwhelming patient numbers amid a surge in flu cases.
This spike in flu cases comes amidst historically low vaccination rates, with only 44 percent of adults and 46 percent of children receiving flu shots this season, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Our hospital is full to the brim,” Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told local news outlet San Francisco Chronicle. “Influenza seems to be everywhere,” he added.
At local clinics in the Bay Area, more than 70 percent of respiratory virus tests are now positive for influenza, surpassing cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), COVID-19 and the common cold. As of Feb. 1, flu test positivity rates hit 27.8 percent, while RSV cases dropped to 5 percent and COVID-19 remained at 2.4 percent, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Since July 1, California has reported at least 561 flu-related deaths, the majority of which are among individuals aged over 65. Additionally, there have been 10 pediatric flu deaths this season, compared to just three pediatric deaths linked to COVID-19 in the same period.
Nationwide, the CDC estimates that there were at least 29 million flu cases, 370,000 hospitalizations, and 16,000 deaths during the 2024-25 flu season as of Feb. 8.