Flu Levels Bring States into the “Purple”

The CDC influenza mapping follows a color system that trends from low case levels colored in greens through yellows and reds to highs in deep purple. The mid-Atlantic region is deep purple. It is at the very highest influenza activity level CDC tracks. It’s not alone in its high levels, though, with Texas a single step down, and the rest of the South one lower – but all in what is considered “very high.”

While the graduated influenza levels then follow typical seasonal trends moving northward with much of the Northwest still in the green, the levels are significantly higher than this same time last year. In fact, positive cases in the U.S have spiked higher than any point last year, with many locations reporting flu-related deaths.

At the same time, RSV is continuing to spread and COVID is beginning to trend higher, in what we predicted to be a seasonal endemic rise. What has changed with COVID is that there seems to be no overly dominant variant, rather, the tracking is showing a mixture of subvariants. Interestingly, however, we are not seeing rises in COVID and flu in the same areas, rather, some have higher flu and lower COVID, with others seeing the opposite. Overall, the infectious diseases are doing just what TAG anticipated and foretold: cases are rising as the weather cools and seasonal trends continue. We do not, however, recommend any major changes in behavior, rather, continuing to ensure that workers with any easily transmissible disease stay home. In areas where influenza or COVID transmission is high, continuing policies that support voluntary employee masking is also encouraged. We also see the rise in infected children likely being an outcome of reduced immunity due to the amount of time all were subject to stay-at-home orders. Thus, any drastic changes (e.g., closing schools) would simply exacerbate and extend that.