Influenza-Linked Hospitalization Rate High in 2024 to 2025 Flu Season
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17, 2025 -- The cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization rate for the 2024 to 2025 season surpassed all end-of-season rates during the period beginning with the 2010 to 2011 season, according to research published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Alissa O'Halloran, M.S.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues compared laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalization rates and patient clinical characteristics from the 2024 to 2025 season with data from past seasons.
The researchers found that the cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization rate for Oct. 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025 (127.1 influenza-associated hospitalizations per 100,000 population) surpassed all end-of-season rates during the period beginning with the 2010 to 2011 season. The highest cumulative 2024 to 2025 season rates were seen for persons aged 75 years and older (598.8). During the 2024 to 2025 season, hospitalization rates were 1.8 to 2.8 times higher across age groups than median historical rates during the period beginning with the 2010 to 2011 season. Overall, 32.4 and 84.8 percent of hospitalized patients had received an influenza vaccine and had received antiviral treatment, respectively. Most patients (89.1 percent) hospitalized with influenza during the 2024 to 2025 season had one or more underlying medical conditions, similar to past seasons; 16.8, 6.1, and 3.0 percent were admitted to an intensive care unit, received invasive mechanical ventilation, and died in hospital, respectively.
"To reduce the risk of influenza-associated complications, early initiation of antiviral treatment is recommended for all hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed influenza illness," the authors write.
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