January 23, 2024- Respiratory virus season is undoubtedly still here, but the burden on the healthcare system may now be starting to ease after weeks of high cases. In the second week of January, COVID-19 admissions fell nearly 10%. However, according to the CDC, more than 32,000 people with the virus were still admitted to U.S. hospitals. The slight drop comes after weeks of increased cases.
- Flu admissions fell for the second week straight, with 14,874 lab-confirmed flu patients hospitalized during the week ending Jan. 13. The CDC estimates there have been at least 16 million flu cases, 180,000 hospitalizations and 11,000 deaths.
- Emergency department visits for COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus all fell in the same week. There were just over 157,000 combined visits for the three viruses, down from more than 215,000 in the week prior.