US flu activity 'unusually low': 5 notes from CDC's Fluview report

Seasonal flu activity in the U.S. is "unusually low" for this time of year, according to the CDC's FluView report.

Five things to know:

1. Nationwide, flu activity remained the same as last week, with the flu accounting for 1.5 percent of outpatient visits for the week ending Nov. 14. This percentage is below the national baseline of 2.6 percent. 

2. No pediatric flu deaths have been reported for the 2020-21 flu season.

3. The national flu and pneumonia mortality rate is 10.7 percent, which sits above the epidemic threshold of 6.2 percent. These deaths are attributed to pneumonia, the flu or COVID-19.

4. No states are reporting very high, high or moderate flu activity. New Mexico and Indiana are both reporting low activity, while the rest of the country is reporting minimal activity.  

5. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for the flu at clinical laboratories was 0.2 percent for the week ending Nov. 14, the same as the week prior.

The CDC noted that flu data is likely affected by the pandemic and should be interpreted with caution.

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