CDC says it?s another bad flu season with up to 7.3 million people sick so far 2019
Up to 7.3 million people have been sick with flu so far this season, the CDC says.
Half those people have been to the doctor because of flu, it says.
As many as 83,500 people have been hospitalized because of flu, federal health officials say.
Flu seasons have been particularly bad in recent years and this one in no different.
An estimated 6.2 million to 7.3 million people in the United States have been sick with the flu since October, federal health officials said Friday. At least half of those people have sought medical care for their illness and 69,000 to 84,000 people have been hospitalized during the Oct. 1 to Jan. 5 period, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated.
This is the first time the CDC has provided such flu estimates for the 2018-2019 season. The estimates are extrapolated from data from about 27 million people, or about 8.5 percent of the U.S. population, federal health officials said.
While the numbers are milder than last season, the CDC?s ?influenza like illness level? last week was elevated at 4.1 percent, almost twice national baseline. There were widespread flu outbreaks across 31 states, including New York, California and Florida, last week, the CDC said. It was widespread throughout almost every state during the same period last year.
Thirty-seven percent of U.S. adults were estimated to have been vaccinated last flu season, down 6 percentage points from the previous year, according to the CDC. It estimates that the flu killed more than 80,000 people and caused more than 900,000 hospitalizations last year.
Up to 7.3 million people have been sick with flu so far this season, the CDC says.
Half those people have been to the doctor because of flu, it says.
As many as 83,500 people have been hospitalized because of flu, federal health officials say.
Flu seasons have been particularly bad in recent years and this one in no different.
An estimated 6.2 million to 7.3 million people in the United States have been sick with the flu since October, federal health officials said Friday. At least half of those people have sought medical care for their illness and 69,000 to 84,000 people have been hospitalized during the Oct. 1 to Jan. 5 period, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated.
This is the first time the CDC has provided such flu estimates for the 2018-2019 season. The estimates are extrapolated from data from about 27 million people, or about 8.5 percent of the U.S. population, federal health officials said.
While the numbers are milder than last season, the CDC?s ?influenza like illness level? last week was elevated at 4.1 percent, almost twice national baseline. There were widespread flu outbreaks across 31 states, including New York, California and Florida, last week, the CDC said. It was widespread throughout almost every state during the same period last year.
Thirty-seven percent of U.S. adults were estimated to have been vaccinated last flu season, down 6 percentage points from the previous year, according to the CDC. It estimates that the flu killed more than 80,000 people and caused more than 900,000 hospitalizations last year.
