Hospitalizations reach near-record high for highly contagious virus... as CDC pushes mass vaccinations

13 Sep 2025

 

"Hospitalizations linked to the flu reached the highest levels in over a decade last season, according to CDC reporting that comes ahead of what could be another severe flu season.

 

During the 2024-2025 flu season, hospitals saw an unusually high number of severe flu cases. A tracking system [sampling of selected hospital data] recorded nearly 39,000 people hospitalized with the flu between October and April.

 

This made it a much more severe season than usual. The total hospitalization rate was 127.1 per 100,000 people, more than double the average of the previous 14 flu seasons, and was the worst season on record since at least 2010. 

 

The season hit its peak in early February, when hospitals were admitting people for the flu at the highest weekly rate seen in over a decade.  Unvaccinated patients made up the overwhelming majority of hospitalizations, accounting for more than 70 percent of admissions.  [emphasis added]

 

(more)

 

U.K. Daily Mail

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15093155/amp/Hospitalizations-record-high-highly-contagious-virus-CDC-mass-vaccinations.html

 

 

Flu hospitalizations reached decade high last season: CDC

Last year’s flu season was among the most severe since 2010, according to newly published data from the CDC.

...

Four more takeaways from the data:

• Overall, rates were highest among adults 75 and older at 598.8 per 100,000.
   
• Most patients — 89% — hospitalized with the flu last season had at least one underlying medical condition. Around 17% of those hospitalized were admitted to an ICU. Three percent of patients died while in the hospital.
  ...
• Thirty-two percent of hospitalized patients had received a flu shot. 

 

The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older receive an annual flu vaccine. Medical experts said the new data underscores the importance of vaccination in fending off severe illness from the common respiratory virus."

 

(more)

 

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/patient-safety-outcomes/flu-hospitalizations-reached-decade-high-last-season-cdc/

 

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7434a1.htm

 

2024 to 2025 US Influenza Season Sets Record Hospitalization Rate

September 12, 2025

...

"Using FluSurv-NET, which covers about 9 percent of the U.S. population, the cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization rate from October 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025 was 127.1 per 100,000, the highest observed since 2010 to 2011.¹

 

Hospitalization rates were elevated across all age groups, ranging from 1.8 to 2.8 times higher than median historical rates. Adults aged 75 years or older had the highest burden at 598.8 per 100,000. In-hospital severity indicators were similar to prior seasons: 16.8 percent of patients were admitted to an intensive care unit, 6.1 percent received invasive mechanical ventilation, and 3.0 percent died during hospitalization. Underlying medical conditions were present in 89.1 percent of hospitalized patients.

 

Investigators noted, “Season severity appears driven by higher incidence rather than unusual clinical severity, with hospitalized patients resembling prior seasons’ risk profiles and resource needs. Despite recommendations, inpatient antiviral use remains suboptimal, particularly among school-aged children, highlighting the need for timely treatment alongside vaccination and basic prevention.”¹

 

(more)

 

https://www.contagionlive.com/view/2024-to-2025-us-influenza-season-sets-record-hospitalization-rate

 

 

Source U.S. CDC report:

Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations During a High Severity Season — Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, United States, 2024–25 Influenza Season

Weekly / September 11, 2025

Summary

What is already known about this topic?

"Seasonal influenza causes substantial annual U.S. morbidity and mortality.

 

What is added by this report?

Among a surveillance sample of the U.S. population, 2024–25 was a high severity influenza season. The cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization rate was the highest since 2010–11. During the 2024–25 season, the percentages of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (16.8%) and who received invasive mechanical ventilation (6.1%) were similar to past seasons’ estimates. Approximately one third of hospitalized patients were vaccinated.

...

Data from the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network covering 9% of the U.S. population, were analyzed to compare laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalization rates and patient clinical characteristics from the 2024–25 season with data from past seasons. Based on preliminary data from influenza-associated hospital admissions from October 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025, the cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization rate (127.1 influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population) had surpassed all end-of-season rates during the period beginning with the 2010–11 season.

...

Implications for Public Health Practice

During the 2024–25 U.S. influenza season, the overall and peak weekly influenza-associated hospitalization rates were the highest recorded since the period beginning with the 2010–11 season. All persons aged ≥6 months who did not have contraindications are recommended to receive annual influenza vaccination (5,7). To reduce the risk of influenza-associated complications, early initiation of antiviral treatment is recommended for all hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed influenza illness."

 

(more)

 

U.S. Centers for Disease Control

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7434a1.htm

 

 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/illness-severity.html

 

 

 

Some background from the American Academy of Pediatricians:

 

AAP releases 2025-’26 flu vaccine recommendations; efforts to increase vaccination ‘urgently needed’

July 28, 2025

 

...

"Policy authors note that “continued efforts to increase influenza vaccination, including strategies to decrease disparities in vaccine access and delivery, and to counter vaccine hesitancy, are urgently needed.”

 

Last season, 49.2% of children ages 6 months through 17 years received the flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That represents a 14.5 percentage point decrease from the end of 2020. [emphasis added]

...

“Last year, less than 50% of eligible children in the United States received a vaccine to protect them against flu, and we saw increases in influenza-related ambulatory care visits, hospitalizations and influenza-related deaths,” said Dr. Bryant, professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville and Norton Children’s. “Multiple school districts experienced flu outbreaks that closed school and disrupted learning. Parents need to know that flu vaccination for all children 6 months and older is a proactive step they can take to keep their child healthy during the winter.” 

 

(more)

 

https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/32712/AAP-releases-2025-26-flu-vaccine-recommendations?autologincheck=redirected

 

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And the CDC reported 280 child deaths in the U.S. from flu during the past flu season, per the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases:

 

Burden

"While the numbers vary, each year in the US, millions of people get sick from flu, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and tens of thousands die from flu and related complications. Flu also affects employers and businesses, costing an estimated $11.2 billion in direct and indirect costs in the US annually. Vaccines help prevent millions of cases of respiratory infections each year.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the 2024-2025 flu season as high severity overall across all ages. According to preliminary estimates, there have been at least 47 million flu-related illnesses, 21 million medical visits, 610,000 hospitalizations, and 27,000 deaths, including 280 pediatric deaths during the 2024-2025 flu season.

 

https://www.nfid.org/infectious-disease/flu/

 

Despite the high rate and numbers of flu-related hospitalizations in the U.S. for 2024-2025, the number of estimated flu deaths, estimated for now at about 27,000, was not the highest in recent years. And the above cited CDC report on record flu hospitalizations didn't discuss or report any numbers on U.S. flu deaths, nor discuss the apparent separation between estimated flu hospitalizations and flu deaths... But, the data is out there:

 

Number of influenza deaths in the United States from 2011 to 2024

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1124915/flu-deaths-number-us/