Cold and Flu News & Features

January 30, 2023 — Respiratory illness levels in the U.S. have declined so much in recent weeks that they are approaching numbers usually seen during non-flu season.

January 23, 2023 — A 'tripledemic' surge of COVID, flu, and RSV cases peaked before the New Year and is now in decline, according to data released by the CDC.

January 18, 2023 — The CDC study found that when children younger than 5 were hospitalized with COVID, they were twice as likely to become severely ill if they also tested positive for one of those other respiratory viruses.

January 11, 2023 — Americans are now accustomed to buying at-home COVID-19 test kits, swabbing, waiting, and interpreting the results themselves. But what about at-home tests for the flu?

January 9, 2023 — The proportion of visits for respiratory illness drops for the fifth consecutive week since peaking in late November.

January 3, 2023 — December brought a drop in infections, but outpatient visits and hospitalizations for influenza remain higher than expected.

December 20, 2022 — With a “tripledemic” of flu, RSV and COVID-19 out there, and holiday travel approaching pre-pandemic levels, government and medical officials have a familiar piece of advice for anyone taking public transportation this season: Wear a mask.

December 19, 2022 — Scientists are using mRNA technology to pioneer a universal flu vaccine, the latest advance in a new age of vaccinology.

December 16, 2022 — The weekly hospitalization rate tumbled from 8 per 100,000 people to 4.5 per 100,000, which was still higher than any other December rate from all previous seasons going back to 2009-10, CDC data shows.

December 9, 2022 — The cumulative hospitalization rate for the 2022-23 season is 16.6 per 100,000 people, the highest seen at this time of year since 2010-11, the CDC said.

December 6, 2022 — A new study finally offers evidence of why we are more likely to get viral infections in the winter.

December 6, 2022 — This year’s version of the influenza vaccine appears to be effective against the widely circulating strains of the virus, the CDC said on Monday.

December 2, 2022 — The CDC reports that hospitalizations for confirmed flu cases nearly doubled during Thanksgiving week.

November 29, 2022 — Outpatient visit and hospitalization rates are the highest in over a decade.

November 21, 2022 — The emergence of another virus, the coronavirus, has changed the definition of influenza-like illness.

November 15, 2022 — Infectious disease experts share why they think more than 2 years of COVID-19 helped create a treacherous environment for unusual RSV and flu outbreaks.

November 15, 2022 — It’s possible to catch COVID-19 and a cold or flu at the same time. Here are tips on how to feel better with a coinfection.

November 14, 2022 — With cold urticaria, patients develop red, raised, itchy bumps — hives — after exposure to cold, and may have trouble breathing.

November 11, 2022 — Flu continues to spread steadily, with case counts continuing their pattern of doubling weekly. The CDC now lists 16 states or major metropolitan areas as having the highest possible label for outpatient respiratory illness visit levels. The prior week, only four of these areas were listed as very high.

November 2, 2022 — Not getting a flu shot once almost cost Jason Alexander a Tony Award. Now, he's urging everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

October 30, 2022 — The spread of flu, also called influenza, is growing faster across the United States than it has in more than a decade, causing alarm among health care providers.

October 25, 2022 — Will cases of RSV, COVID-19, and influenza rise together? Public health officials urge precautions, while noting that the flu and RSV viruses are simply playing catchup after lockdowns and social distancing.

October 17, 2022 — While the number of flu cases is rising across the United States, high levels of flu are being reported in Southeastern states, according to the CDC’s first weekly influenza surveillance report of the 2022-23 flu season.

October 14, 2022 — As outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory conditions pop up across the United States, health experts say that the nation may be facing an early and severe flu season.

October 11, 2022 — Many new shots have been pointed our way since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Do you really need a flu shot too? Yes, as much as ever.

October 11, 2022 — Yes, mucus – or snot, or phlegm – is gross, but it has vital clues about your health. Learn what it might be telling you and when to see a doctor.

October 11, 2022 — Kids spread germs like it’s their job. But teaching them these simple habits will help them – and your family – stay well and head off colds and flu.

October 11, 2022 — Germs are everywhere, but some places and things are germ hot spots. Learn some you might not think about, and how to stay healthy wherever you go.

October 10, 2022 — No two cold and flu seasons are the same. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself now.

October 4, 2022 — Jeb Teichman, a retired pediatrician, lost his son to flu in 2019. On Tuesday, he joined other health officials to urge all Americans to get vaccinated and avoid his son's fate.

September 29, 2022 — Scientists studying the movements of large numbers of people attending live events have teamed up with an epidemiologist to track viral transmission and how to prevent it.

September 16, 2022 — The company says the vaccine, which uses the same mRNA technology that was used in the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, could be produced faster than traditional flu vaccines. That would make it easier to match a vaccine to battle constantly changing flu strains.

September 6, 2022 — Guidelines recommend children 6 months and older be vaccinated annually.

August 1, 2022 — The pandemic has triggered changes in influenza, RSV, and the common cold, and experts said they can’t yet fully explain why.

July 21, 2022 — An alarming spike in COVID-19 and flu cases in Australia could put the U.S. on track for what health experts call a “twindemic” – a dangerous viral one-two punch in the months ahead.

June 16, 2022 — New research indicates adult flu shots have slumped in states with low COVID vaccination rates, suggesting that COVID vaccination behavior may have spilled over to flu-vaccine behavior.

April 29, 2022 — A man who worked on a commercial poultry farm in Colorado has tested positive for avian influenza A(H5) virus, better known as H5 bird flu, the CDC said Thursday.

April 28, 2022 — China has recorded the first human infection with the H3N8 strain of brain flu, though the risk of transmission among people remains low.

April 4, 2022 — Outbreaks of the norovirus, which causes stomach flu, have increased dramatically since the beginning of January.

March 30, 2022 — The nasal spray flu vaccine does not worsen symptoms for children with asthma, according to a new clinical trial published in the journal Pediatrics.

March 23, 2022 — A commercial chicken farm in Nebraska will destroy 570,000 broilers because a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza – better known as bird flu – was discovered in the flock, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture reported.

March 21, 2022 — The number of influenza cases is increasing across the United States but has not hit pre-pandemic levels, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection says.

December 17, 2021 — Flu vaccines aren’t providing as much as much protection as hoped for against the most widely circulating strain of influenza, a new study says, but it appears the vaccines will still prevent severe illness in people who are infected.

November 19, 2021 — Experts say it is far too early to say if the country will have a normal – i.e., bad – flu season or a repeat of last year, when the flu all but disappeared amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

November 11, 2021 — A cholesterol drug and a pair of antidepressants affect what happens when influenza viruses make contact with human cells.

November 10, 2021 — The flu shot isn't that effective. Here's why experts say you should still get it anyway.

November 9, 2021 — There are tantalizing suggestions that zinc helps prevent and treat respiratory tract infections.

November 2, 2021 — There's new evidence supporting the habit of popping a zinc supplement at the first sign of a cold.

October 28, 2021 — Cough and cold medications should not be given to young children, warn experts, who say that kids under the age of 4 are especially at risk.