August 16, 2022 – Each week, we will compile the latest data regarding flu and COVID-19 cases in the United States. As things change, we hope that this information will paint a better picture of what to look for in emerging COVID variant and in the upcoming flu season.
According to the CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, there have been 153 positive influenza specimens out of a total of 34,645 specimens tested in clinical laboratories, a slight decrease from last week. Influenza A makes up 138 of those cases, while Influenza B makes up 15 of the cases. The data from clinical laboratories are used to monitor whether flu activity is increasing or decreasing.
The CDC’s COVID-19 tracker reports that there are a daily average of 103,614 new cases and a daily average of 6,003 new hospitalizations as of August 10. The positive cases have decreased 13.8% from the previous 7-day moving average (120,151). BA. 2 Omicron subvariant is projected to continue to be the dominant strain in the United States, causing over 100% of all cases.
Schools in the United States have begun to start back for the fall semester, which could cause things to surge in the COVID and flu arenas in the next few weeks.