CDC Warns of High Respiratory Virus Activity Across the US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on April 23, 2020. Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images

Respiratory illness caused by common seasonal viruses is currently considered “high” in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

COVID-19 is causing a low number of people to go to emergency departments, but the numbers are on the rise, according to the agency. RSV and influenza cases are also increasing, the CDC said.

“We predict COVID-19 illness will continue to increase in the coming weeks as it usually does in the winter,” the CDC said in an update published on Dec. 27.

“COVID-19 activity is increasing in most areas of the country, with high COVID-19 wastewater levels and increasing emergency department visits and laboratory percent positivity.”

“There is still time to benefit from getting your recommended immunizations to reduce your risk of illness this season, especially severe illness and hospitalization,” the agency added.

“CDC expects the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to work well for currently circulating variants. There are many effective tools to prevent spreading COVID-19 or becoming seriously ill.”

About 30 states have reported “high” or “very high” levels of the virus in wastewater in recent days, according to the CDC map.

“Based on CDC modeled estimates of epidemic growth, we predict COVID-19 illness will continue to increase in the coming weeks as it usually does in the winter,” the CDC said.

Emergency department visits for RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, remain high, the CDC said. Influenza emergency department visits, meanwhile, are moderate, the agency said.

“RSV activity is high and continues to increase in most areas of the country, particularly in young children. Emergency department visits and hospitalizations are increasing in children and hospitalizations are increasing among older adults in some areas,” the agency said.

Influenza positivity increased by 12 percent in the week ending Dec. 12, the last one in which data are available, according to the CDC.

The agency “estimates that there have been at least 3.1 million illnesses, 37,000 hospitalizations, and 1,500 deaths from flu so far this season.”

Last winter’s flu season was considered “moderate” overall, but it was long—21 weeks—and the CDC reported an estimated 28,000 flu-related deaths. It was unusually dangerous for children, with 205 pediatric deaths. That was the highest number ever reported for a conventional flu season.

Vaccination rates for children are even lower this year. As of Dec. 7, about 41 percent of adults had received a flu vaccination, similar to the rate at the same point last year. The percentage is the same for children, but that’s a drop from a year ago, when 44 percent were vaccinated against the flu, according to the CDC.

Vaccination rates are lower still against COVID-19, with about 21 percent of adults and 11 percent of children receiving one.

Earlier this month, the CDC said that whooping cough, caused by the bacteria pertussis, was on the rise. More than “six times as many cases have been reported as of week 50 ... compared to the same time in 2023,” the CDC said.

“The number of reported cases this year is higher than what was seen at the same time in 2019, prior to the pandemic.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.