Influenza activity is winding down, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate.
Of the 57,669 specimens tested in clinical laboratories during the week ending March 28, 9.8 percent came back positive, below the 14.3 percent rate recorded overall since Sept. 28, 2025, the CDC said in an update on April 3. Decreases were recorded in seven of 10 regions of the country, including the West and Midwest. The only regions that recorded increases were the states in or near the Northeast.
That’s the lowest percentage since the week ending Dec. 6, 2025.
Public health laboratories have also seen fewer positive flu tests in recent weeks. The number in the week ending March 28, 420, was the lowest since early November 2025.
“Seasonal influenza activity continues to decrease in most areas of the country,” the CDC stated.
The respiratory virus season typically runs from the fall into the following year. The risk of infection increases when people spend more time indoors.
Other trends recorded by the CDC, such as the weekly hospitalization rate for residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, have also been dropping, including in the most recent week for which data are available.
The CDC estimates that there have been 30 million to 54 million cases of the flu through March 28, as well as up to 770,000 hospitalizations and up to 76,000 deaths from the flu. The preliminary estimates, based in part on testing practices from prior seasons, are finalized after the season is over.
The severity of the 2025–2026 season is classified as moderate, in part because of the relatively high number of hospitalizations and deaths attributed to influenza.
Most of the cases this season have been caused by influenza A, including subclade K, but about 85 percent of the specimens sequenced in clinical labs and a majority of the specimens in the week ending March 28 were influenza B.
The CDC currently recommends influenza vaccination each year to individuals aged 6 months and older. The CDC had rolled back that broad advice for children, saying there was uncertainty about the benefits of vaccination for many kids, but a judge in March blocked the update as he ruled officials did not adhere to proper procedure when developing the new guidance.
Activity of COVID-19, meanwhile, is low across most of the country, the CDC reported on Friday. Cases of respiratory syncytial virus, often referred to as RSV, which usually start rising later than influenza cases, have peaked in many regions of the country but remain elevated, the public health agency said.