It’s not even 2015 yet, but the flu is already here.
This year’s influenza has already reached “epidemic” levels in some states, according to statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.
During the week that ended on December 20, over 28,000 people were tested for the flu and over 6,000 (28 percent) tested positive. Twenty-two states and Puerto Rico are reporting “high” levels of flu activity for that week, and all 10 regions of the U.S. had at least met the region-specific baseline levels.
Four influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurred during that week, and 15 children overall have died, according to the CDC.
While the flu reaches epidemic levels frequently, this is earlier than when the flu typically hits, the CDC told The Washington Post.
But here in New York City, things are not so dire. In fact, New York City and eight states have experienced low flu activity, according to the CDC.
