Six updates:
1. The percentage of visits to an outpatient provider for flu-like illness was 1.6 percent for the second week in a row. This figure remains below the national baseline of 2.6 percent.
2. No new pediatric flu deaths were reported for the week ending Jan. 2. In total, one pediatric flu death has been recorded for the 2020-21 flu season.
3. The national flu and pneumonia mortality rate is 14.5 percent, which sits above the epidemic threshold of 6.9 percent. The majority of these deaths are attributed to COVID-19.
4. No states reported very high, high or moderate flu activity for the week ending Jan. 2. Six states — Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma and South Carolina — reported low flu activity, while 42 states reported minimal flu activity. Washington, D.C., was excluded because of insufficient data.
5. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for the flu at clinical laboratories was 0.1 percent for the week ending Jan. 2.
6. Flu activity reporting has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and should be interpreted with caution, according to the CDC.
More articles on public health:
UK variant found in 8 states; hospitalizations top 100K for 40 days — 6 COVID-19 updates
‘Lawless’ vaccine rollout; 22 UK variant cases — 9 things to know about COVID-19 in Florida
How new Japan coronavirus variant compares to UK, South Africa strains: 6 notes
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