The 2023-24 respiratory virus season has made it to spring, but viral activity from flu, COVID-19 and RSV is falling across most of the U.S.
Here’s the situation in four charts:
How active are the respiratory viruses?
The CDC gauges activity by tracking doctor visits that involve a patient showing flu-like symptoms. Last week, those made up 3.4% of all visits, or about 1 visit in every 29.
Where is activity highest?
Flu activity is highest in the central U.S. Across the nation, the activity level is very high in Nebraska, and high for another seven states.
Which virus is most prevalent?
The rate at which tests come back positive for each virus can suggest which ones are most responsible for general respiratory illness activity. Results are delayed for this CDC dataset, but flu has had the highest positivity rate since mid-December.
Hospital admissions
Hospitalizations can give an idea of the danger associated with each virus. COVID-19 is hospitalizing people at a rate of 3.2 per 100,000, the highest rate among the three viruses. Rates for all three viruses are declining.
Takeaway
While activity levels are still elevated, decreasing trends across each of the key metrics suggest the season is waning.
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