Holiday Flu Wave Sweeps U.S., Matching Last Winter’s Brutal Toll in Weeks

From Thanksgiving Tables to Sickbeds

Denise Alvarez, 38, had barely stacked the last dinner plate when the fever hit. By dawn she was in a Phoenix emergency room, one of thousands nationwide whose holiday cheer dissolved into chills, body aches and an IV drip. “I thought it was just exhaustion,” she said, voice raspy. “Turns out it was influenza A, and it’s everywhere.”

Early Data Shows a Ferocious Comeback

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly FluView map is bleeding red from California to Maine. More than 19,000 patients tested positive in the week ending December 28, doubling the count of the same week in 2023. Pediatric admissions jumped 60 % in just seven days, pushing several children’s hospitals into surge protocols.

“We are essentially seeing a full season’s worth of cases in a month,” said Dr. Ramon Contreras, infectious-disease chief at Children’s National in Washington, D.C.

Why This Season Took Off Like Wildfire

• Holiday mingling: Airports screened 7.5 million travelers in a single December weekend, the TSA says, providing the virus an express lane across states.
• Vaccine fatigue: Only 44 % of U.S. adults have rolled up their sleeves so far, down six points from last year, CDC surveys show.
• Dominant strain: H3N2, notorious for severe seasons, accounts for 78 % of confirmed samples.

Pharmacies Run Low on Tamiflu

Chains from CVS to Kroger report spot shortages of the antiviral in Ohio, Texas and Florida. Manufacturer Genentech insists national supply is “adequate,” but local distributors can’t restock fast enough. Some clinics are rationing prescriptions to the very young, elderly and immunocompromised.

What Doctors Wish Patients Knew

“If you’re within 48 hours of symptom onset, antivirals can still blunt the course,” said Dr. Tara Lewis, a family physician in Atlanta. “After that window, we can only treat complications.” She urges people to stay home until fever-free 24 hours without medication, echoing CDC guidance too often ignored by workers lacking paid sick leave.

Forecast: Peak Still Ahead

Modelers at Columbia University project cases will crest in mid-January, potentially rivaling the 2017–18 season that claimed 79,000 lives. “We’re not doomed,” said epidemiologist Dr. Aubrey Gordon. “But we need to behave like it’s already bad—because it is.”