Flu Infections Hit Highest Level in US Since Covid Pandemic

An influenza outbreak swamped the US as the year came to an end, reaching the highest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic and hitting children and teenagers especially hard.

At least 11 million people have contracted the flu so far this season and 5,000 people have died, according to data released Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctor and emergency department visits for flu-like illness are at the highest levels since before the pandemic hit in 2020, and the agency classified the current outbreak as “moderately severe” for the first time during the last week of 2025.