Nearly 800 people (782) in Colorado are now hospitalized with flu, that\u2019s almost 250 more than a week ago, 430 more than two weeks ago and 12 times the number the state recorded in mid-November.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The total is almost 300 more than last season\u2019s peak of around 500 in early February.<\/p>\n
The numbers appear to be in record-shattering territory. This same week in 2014, 582 people were hospitalized with flu, in what was the worst recent season in Colorado. That\u2019s according to the state health department\u2019s 2015 flu season annual report<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That 2014 figure was the highest number of hospitalizations reported during a single week since hospitalizations became a reportable condition in the 2004-2005 season, according to the report.<\/p>\n The line on this week\u2019s flu hospitalization graph is now nearly vertical, charging almost straight up on the website of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment that tracks viral activity, which was updated Tuesday.<\/p>\n The number of tests coming back positive, called the weekly sentinel positivity rate, is nearly 34 percent, which means many are testing positive for flu when they show up coughing, sneezing and sniffling in hospitals, urgent cares, clinics, community health centers and doctor\u2019s offices.<\/p>\n Almost 10 percent of visits to hospital emergency departments are now being diagnosed with flu and it\u2019s showing up in all of the 21 utilities monitoring for it in wastewater.<\/p>\n Overall respiratory illness activation in Colorado is high, according to the website. The only bright spot is that so far, hospitalization for COVID-19 and RSV have remained relatively flat, with both recording about 60 hospitalizations each. But those viruses bear watching too, since all the key metrics for them are also on the rise.<\/p>\n Colorado\u2019s flu boom mirrors<\/a> what is being seen nationally, with cases rising sharply.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last week more than 19,000 flu patients with influenza were admitted to hospitals, which was an increase of around 10,000 from the prior week, according to new CDC data<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The agency estimated some 7.5 million people have been sickened, and over 3,100 people have died from the flu.<\/p>\n In Colorado, one child has died<\/a> from the flu. CDPHE week confirmed the death, an elementary school-aged child from metro Denver, as the first influenza-associated pediatric death of the 2025-26 viral respiratory disease season.<\/p>\n CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older who has not yet been vaccinated this season get an annual flu vaccine. Approximately 130 million doses of influenza vaccine have been distributed in the United States this season, according to the agency\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite all the news of flu illness, Coloradans are so far not taking the step that doctors say provides the best protection: getting immunized.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s immunization numbers are woefully short of what public health officials and doctors say would provide much better community protection.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cdphe-flu-12-31.png\"\/)
Courtesy Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment<\/p>\n