Weekly Flu Report, December 17, 2021

Massachusetts Department of Public Health weekly influenza update

This week's report

View the current weekly flu report.

Highlights

• Influenza severity for Massachusetts is moderate this week.
• The percent of influenza-like illness (ILI) visits in Massachusetts is 2.80%, which is above the regional baseline of 2.0% and higher than the three previous seasons in the same week.
• The percent of hospitalizations associated with influenza is 0.47%, which is comparable to the previous three seasons in the same week.
• Overall ILI activity is moderate. The Central region is reporting high ILI activity; the Boston, Inner Metro Boston, Outer Metro Boston, Southeast and West Regions are reporting moderate ILI activity; the Northeast is reporting low ILI activity.
• More influenza A than influenza B positive specimens have been reported by hospitals and outpatient facilities in Massachusetts. For influenza A, the predominant strain is currently H3N2.
• Nationally, flu activity is increasing, including indicators that track hospitalizations.
• Additional statewide and national data including geographic spread, ILI activity, and pneumonia and influenza mortality are available at CDC’s FluView Weekly Report and FluView Interactive.
• Statewide and national COVID data are available at COVID-19 reporting and CDC's Surveillance and Data Analytics.

Flu season has begun and the best time to get your flu shot is now. Flu vaccination is always the best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications.

Date published:	December 17, 2021