If it seems like everybody around you these days is getting sick, it may not be your imagination. Flu cases have been surging in Michigan and throughout the country.

As of Jan. 25 — the latest data available — nearly 8% of patients who visited emergency rooms and urgent-care facilities in Michigan had flu-like illnesses, up from 5.4% the week before.

Respiratory illnesses also accounted for nearly 8% of outpatient visits nationwide as of Feb. 1, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 31% of flu tests were coming back positive as of that date, the CDC reports, compared with just under 19% in late December and early January.

Michigan flu activity is “very high” according to the CDC’s national surveillance map.

“It’s been a reasonably bad respiratory season so far, and flu has been on the rise,” said Dr. Charles Gibson, chief medical officer at Corewell Health in west Michigan. “Influenza is up between 25% and 30% positive right now. So it means that 1 of every 10 people who are getting tested two to three are testing positive, and that includes both in and outpatient,” he said.

The CDC estimates that there have been at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 13,000 deaths from flu so far this season.

“Every year in the United States, … there are between 10 and 70,000 deaths that are associated with influenza. And that’s a high number, a lot of that is preventable by the vaccine,” Gibson said.

The surge in cases comes as vaccination rates remain low in Michigan. As of Jan. 25, the rate was 24.2% for the 2024-25 flu season, the Michigan health department reports. The CDC recommends yearly flu shots for everyone aged 6 months and older, with few exceptions.

Canceling classes

Some schools have cancelled classes again, not due to below-freezing temperatures and icy roads, which prompted cancellations over the past few weeks — but because of the flu.

Holy Family Catholic School in Grand Blanc and Michigan Lutheran High School in St. Joseph were closed Wednesday because a number of students and staff have come down with the flu, WNDU News reported. Michigan Lutheran High School also canceled its boys varsity basketball game scheduled for Friday night due to lack of players, according to social media posts.

Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes in Mishawaka also closed due to illnesses.

The good news is that while cases of the flu are rising, cases of other seasonal respiratory illnesses have been low.

“COVID has sort of been holding steady for a long time at right around 5% and we are getting COVID patients admitted to the hospital,” Gibson said. “There are some in the ICU, not nearly as many as influenza right now, and RSV, even less in the ICU.”

This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is Michigan’s largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation’s leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at https://www.bridgemi.com/.