One current respiratory check
Flu-like illness, RSV, and COVID-19 are all tracked below for the latest national source week. Start with direction and activity level, then open the metric note before comparing anything.
Latest source week: week ending Aug 22, 2026
15-second answer
Updated from checked-in source data Aug 29, 2026
Flu-like illness
1.1%
→ Stable — similar to 0.9% last week
A symptom-based outpatient signal. ILI can include flu, COVID-19, RSV, or other respiratory illnesses.
RSV hospital admissions
0.1 per 100K
→ Stable — similar to 0.1 per 100K last week
A hospital-burden signal. It does not count every RSV infection in the community.
COVID-19 hospital admissions
0.8 per 100K
→ Stable — similar to 0.7 per 100K last week
A hospital-burden signal. It does not estimate every COVID-19 infection in the community.
Do not compare unlike numbers
The flu card uses outpatient visits for influenza-like illness. The RSV and COVID-19 cards use hospital admissions per 100,000 people. A higher raw flu percentage does not mean flu is “more common” than the other viruses. Compare each series with its own recent history, and use the source date and scope before sharing a conclusion.
Why health sources can disagree →Make it local
National signals are orientation, not a local answer. Search a real place to open its overview or switch directly to flu, RSV, or COVID-19.
Verify and reuse
The files include the full checked-in national time series for each signal, plus metric, unit, activity label, official source name, and official source URL. They update with the site’s weekly data refresh.
Recent direction
Each column keeps its own unit. Use this table for within-signal direction, not cross-metric magnitude.
percent of outpatient visits
| Week ending | Value |
|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2026 | 1.1% |
| Aug 15, 2026 | 0.9% |
| Aug 8, 2026 | 0.9% |
| Aug 1, 2026 | 0.9% |
| Jul 25, 2026 | 0.9% |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 0.9% |
| Jul 11, 2026 | 0.9% |
| Jul 4, 2026 | 1.0% |
admissions per 100,000 people
| Week ending | Value |
|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
| Aug 15, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
| Aug 8, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
| Aug 1, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
| Jul 25, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
| Jul 11, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
| Jul 4, 2026 | 0.1 per 100K |
admissions per 100,000 people
| Week ending | Value |
|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2026 | 0.8 per 100K |
| Aug 15, 2026 | 0.7 per 100K |
| Aug 8, 2026 | 0.6 per 100K |
| Aug 1, 2026 | 0.5 per 100K |
| Jul 25, 2026 | 0.5 per 100K |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 0.4 per 100K |
| Jul 11, 2026 | 0.3 per 100K |
| Jul 4, 2026 | 0.3 per 100K |
Read the scope before the number
The latest national source week ends Aug 22, 2026. Flu-like illness, RSV hospital admissions, and COVID-19 hospital admissions are all shown above with their current activity label and direction. These signals describe different parts of respiratory illness, so use a state or city page for the local picture.
No. Flu is the percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness, while RSV and COVID-19 are new hospital admissions per 100,000 people. Compare each signal with its own recent trend and activity label, not with the raw magnitude of another metric.
No. Low is a surveillance activity label, not zero illness. These weekly systems also have reporting lag and do not count every infection, so they are best for orientation and trend checks rather than diagnosis or clinical decisions.
Use the CSV download for a spreadsheet-friendly time series or the JSON download for a structured file. Each row keeps the metric, unit, source name, source URL, and source week attached.
Local Health Signal is not affiliated with the CDC or any government agency. Data is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended for clinical decision making. See our methods page for details on data sources and limitations.