Flu Trend Question
What Does Decreasing Flu Activity Mean?
A decreasing label means the flu-like-illness signal has moved down across its comparison window; it does not mean flu is over. Current national activity is moderate. Trend unavailable for the national flu-like illness signal. A trend needs three valid consecutive weekly reports through the latest reading.
15-second answer
- Decreasing is a direction label. It says the signal is lower than the comparison period, not that flu has disappeared.
- The current national CDC ILINet signal is moderate at 2.1% of outpatient visits for flu-like illness. Trend unavailable for the national flu-like illness signal. A trend needs three valid consecutive weekly reports through the latest reading.
- A state can be decreasing and still have meaningful flu activity if it is coming down from a high season peak.
- For a practical answer, read the current level, the week ending date, the season context, and the state page together.
Why this matters 1
People often read "decreasing" as "not a problem anymore." That can be misleading when the current level is still moderate or high.
Why this matters 2
This page supports the flu state pages by explaining how to combine intensity, direction, and season context before deciding which local page to send or check next.
Best Next Clicks
What to open next
Open the national flu tracker
Best next click if you want the full state-by-state map and current national trend.
Open the Hawaii flu page
Best next click if you want to see a current state example.
Open the local flu question page
Best next click if your real question is whether flu still feels active near you.
Open the hottest-flu-states ranking
Best next click if you want to compare states instead of interpreting one trend label.
Source and context
How this answer is built
Source
Updated
Week ending Oct 10
Coverage
National and state flu-like illness surveillance
Best For
Interpreting flu trend labels on state and national pages
This page should stay focused on interpretation. It should not turn a decreasing trend into medical advice or imply that every city has city-specific flu surveillance.
FAQ
Quick questions about this answer
Does decreasing flu activity mean flu is gone?
No. It only means the surveillance signal is moving down. The current level can still be moderate or high, especially when activity is falling from a winter peak.
Why does Local Health Signal show both level and trend?
Because either one alone can mislead. Level tells you how much flu-like illness is being reported now, while trend tells you whether that signal is rising, stable, or easing.
This week
The sendable weekly version
What's Going Around This Week? U.S. Health Briefing
Flu-like illness: moderate; COVID-19 hospital admissions: moderate; RSV hospital admissions: low. See the source weeks and find your state or city report.
Flu-like illness
2.1% · moderate
COVID-19
1.1 per 100K · moderate
RSV
0.2 per 100K · low
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