Weekly Flu Report, March 18, 2022

Massachusetts Department of Public Health weekly influenza update

This week's report

• Weekly Flu Report, March 18, 2022 (PDF)

Highlights

• Influenza severity for Massachusetts is low this week.
• The percent of influenza-like illness (ILI) visits in Massachusetts is 0.98%, which is lower than the regional baseline of 2.0%.
• The percent of hospitalizations associated with influenza is 0.18%, which is lower than two of the previous seasons, but higher than the last season in the same week.
• Overall ILI activity is minimal, but increasing. All regions are reporting minimal ILI activity.
• Laboratory-confirmed influenza cases increased by 96% this week. 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.
• The number of influenza vaccine doses administered this flu season is comparable to last season in the same week. The vaccination rate for all ages is 47%. See figure 6 and 7 for vaccination data.
• Nationally, influenza activity is increasing in most of the country.
• Additional statewide and national data including geographic spread, ILI activity, and pneumonia and influenza mortality are available at CDC’s FluView Weekly Report at www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly and FluView Interactive www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluviewinteractive.htm.
• Statewide and national COVID data are available at
  • www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting
  • www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html

It’s not too late to get vaccinated. Flu vaccination is always the best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications.

Additional Resources

Weekly Flu Report, March 18, 2022 (Accessible)

Date published:	March 18, 2022
Last updated:	March 18, 2022