Flu-like activity in Michigan hit “very high” on the 13-level assessment for the week ending December 27 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state is seeing a 40% increase in hospitalizations compared to the same point last year, according to Ryan Malosh, the director of the division of immunizations for the state health department.
“So this flu season… is hitting earlier, and it is worryingly severe,” Malosh said.
There have been 32 confirmed influenza outbreaks in the state so far in the 2025-2026 flu season.
Nationally, the CDC estimates there have been 11 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths due to the flu so far this season.
Last year, the season hit its peak around mid-to-late February, said Jim Lee, the Michigan Health and Hospital Association’s senior vice president for data policy and analytics.
“It's too early to tell when that peak will occur, but we're definitely experiencing flu season a little bit earlier this year in our hospitals,” Lee said.
This season, around 24% of Michigan residents have received an influenza vaccine.
A type of influenza A, the H3N2 subclade K variant, is driving the majority of the surge in flu cases, but it “doesn’t seem to be associated with an increased severity of cases,” the state's chief medical executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, said.
"The flu vaccine is still effective at preventing those severe complications from happening,” Bagdasarian said.
Dr. Bagdasarian recommended using a “layered approach,” which includes getting vaccinated, wearing a mask and staying home when you're sick. She emphasized that it isn’t too late to get vaccinated against the flu.
