Flu activity continues to decline across the country, but the season remains classified as high-severity for children, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting four new deaths in children in today’s FluView update, down from 12 the week before. Flu has claimed a total of 143 child deaths this season, compared with 296 for all of last season.
Roughly 85% of pediatric deaths this season have occurred in children not fully vaccinated against flu.
In contrast, across all age-groups, the CDC continues to classify the 2025-26 season as moderate overall, with activity trending downward for the ninth straight week. Influenza A(H3N2) activity across the country is currently considered low, and influenza B activity continues to ebb, despite it being more frequently reported than influenza A in recent weeks. Flu-related hospitalizations fell from 2,589 last week to 1,893 this week.
Most flu cases this season have been caused by the H3N2 strain. Of the 2,210 virus samples the CDC has tested since September 28, 2025, 92.8% were caused by the H3N2 subclade K variant, which emerged after the current season’s vaccine was developed.
So far this season, the CDC estimates that there have been 31 million illnesses, 380,000 hospitalizations, and 23,000 deaths from flu.
Rotavirus activity high across the country
Data from WastewaterScan, an online tool that tracks infectious pathogen levels in wastewater, shows that rotavirus activity is high across the country and that levels have been rising since January. Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that can cause severe illness in children under age 5 years, including diarrhea, vomiting, and fever, and can be fatal in some cases. In adults, rotavirus causes mild or no symptoms.
In the United States, two rotavirus vaccines are approved for use in children. The CDC estimates that, during an infant’s first year, the vaccine provides 85% to 98% protection against severe illness and hospitalization and 74% to 87% protection against rotavirus illness of any severity.
Roughly 74% of US children are vaccinated against rotavirus by age eight months, according to the latest data from the CDC. That number has been steadily declining over the past eight years—a trend that could continue as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., shifts away from recommending certain vaccines. In January, HHS removed six vaccines, including the rotavirus vaccine, from the recommended childhood immunization schedule.
