Flu season worsens as 44 states report high activity

Flu shots recommended for those at least 6 months old or older

The U.S. flu season keeps getting worse.

Health officials said Friday that 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flulike illnesses. That’s as high as the peak of the 2017-18 flu season and higher than any season since.

The annual winter flu season usually doesn’t get going until December or January, but this one began early and has been complicated by the simultaneous spread of other viruses.

The measure of traffic in doctor’s offices is based on reports of symptoms like coughs and sore throats, not on lab-confirmed diagnoses. So it may include other respiratory illnesses.

That makes it hard to compare to flu seasons from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Other years also didn’t have this year’s unusually strong wave of RSV, or re