How bad is flu? CDC reports most of the U.S. with high or very high flu levels

How bad is flu season right now? Ahead of Thanksgiving travel, flu is spreading fast across the U.S., the CDC reported Friday.

Influenza continues its fast and furious spread across the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.

Most of the worst of respiratory illnesses remain concentrated in Southern states like Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. There are signs that flu is ramping up in other areas such as Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, according to the CDC.

Such widespread flu activity this early in the typical flu season hasn't been recorded in the U.S. in more than a decade. That comes ahead of what is expected to be a busy Thanksgiving travel week.

"Flu hospitalization rates right now are the highest we've seen at this time of year in the past decade," Lynnette Brammer, an epidemiologist and team lead of CDC's domestic influenza surveillance team, said in an email.

The unprecedented early flu surge comes amid a nationwide struggle to control a tripledemic of viruses: flu, Covid and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. While young children are most at risk for complications from viral infections, older adults, too, are affected.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/bad-flu-cdc-reports-us-high-high-flu-levels-rcna57849

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