California seeing one its worst flu spikes this century, experts say [View all]

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-bay-area-flu-season-cases-increasing-20159536.php

While COVID-19 is finally easing this winter, the flu is still raging across California. Following a nationwide trend, the state’s flu season is turning out to be one of the most intense in recent years, with increased deaths and hospitalizations.

“This is shaping up to be one of the four worst influenza seasons this century,” John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, told SFGATE.

According to data from the California Department of Public Health’s weekly report from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, statewide influenza activity is “high and increasing,” while cases of other respiratory viruses including COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are low.

California is one of several states with “very high” flu activity, a Centers for Disease Control map shows, with a flu rate of 27.8% as of Feb. 1. That puts California only slightly behind the national flu rate of 31.6%. And in the Bay Area, flu cases are high in several major cities, including San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Redwood City Fremont, Vallejo and Novato, according to data from WastewaterSCAN, a Stanford-run program that tracks viral traces in wastewater.