The amount of acute respiratory illness causing Americans to seek healthcare is at a high level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In an update issued on Friday, the CDC announced that in addition to Covid-19 activity increasing from low levels in most areas across the US, seasonal influenza activity continues to increase and is elevated across most of the country.
The CDC predicts that Covid-19 rates will continue to increase in the coming weeks, as it typically does during winter. Between the week ending on 21 December 2024 and the week ending on 28 December 2024, the Covid-19 test positivity rate increased from 7% to 7.1% across the US.
Meanwhile, influenza’s test positivity rate increased from 12% to 18.7% in that time period. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) were the predominant viruses reported, the CDC said.
Moreover, the positivity rate for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is considered “very high” in many areas of the country, particularly among young children, the CDC said. It added that the number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations are highest for children and that hospitalization rates have increased among older adults in some areas.
Despite high rates of acute respiratory illnesses driving people to seek healthcare, vaccination coverage for the three illnesses remains low. According to the CDC, vaccination coverage for Covid-19 and influenza are low among both adults and children. Similarly, vaccination coverage for RSV remains low among adults, the CDC said.
Overall, the CDC said, it expects the fall and winter virus season to have a similar or lower peak number of combined hospitalizations from Covid-19, influenza and RSV compared with last year. However, the peak hospitalization rates from all respiratory viruses remain likely to be much higher than they were before the Covid-19 pandemic, it said.
As part of its fall and winter immunization guidance, the CDC recommends the seasonal flu vaccine and the 2024-25 Covid-19 vaccine for everyone aged six months and older. The agency added that vaccination is especially important for those who are at increased risk of severe disease such as adults 65 years and older, people with certain health conditions, nursing home residents and pregnant people.
The agency also recommends that people who are immunocompromised or 65 years 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 who are 75 years and older, adults between 60 and 74 years old with certain health conditions, and those who live in nursing homes. Currently, older adults need to get the RSV vaccine once, not every year.
Last September, a study released by the Ohio State University’s Wexner medical center found that less than half of Americans planned to get their Covid-19 vaccine in 2024, and slightly more than half planned to get a flu shot.
