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# Flu Hospitalizations Reach Highest Early-Season Level in a Decade as U.S. Activity Accelerates
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/taq-historical-2022-10-29-healthcare/
- Published: 2022-10-30T03:59:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-10-30T03:59:00.000Z
- Description: CDC says early-season influenza hospitalizations are the highest seen at this point in a decade, with test positivity and admissions rising rapidly across the United States.
- Author: Kenneth R. Deans Jr.
- Tags: Healthcare, #Import 2026-08-31 18:00

Influenza is accelerating unusually early across the United States, with federal surveillance showing **443 laboratory-confirmed hospitalizations in FluSurv-NET from October 1 through October 22** — the highest cumulative rate at this point in the season since comparable surveillance began in 2010\. CDC’s [October 28 assessment](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spotlights/2022-2023/early-wave-hospitalizations.htm?ref=theamericanquorum.com) says early increases are concentrated most heavily in the Southeast and south-central regions but are spreading as the country moves deeper into fall.

The numbers remain well below what the nation can experience at the peak of a severe flu season, yet their timing is the concern. Hospital systems are entering winter while COVID-19 continues to circulate and pediatric facilities in several regions are also reporting pressure from respiratory syncytial virus. An early influenza wave reduces the time available for vaccination and increases the chance that multiple respiratory viruses will strain capacity simultaneously.

## Hospitalization rates are far above typical October levels

CDC’s [FluView report for the week ending October 22](https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/148223?ref=theamericanquorum.com) records an overall cumulative influenza hospitalization rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people. In prior seasons going back to 2010–2011, the comparable rate at week 42 ranged from zero to 0.3 per 100,000.

Adults 65 and older and children under 5 each had cumulative hospitalization rates of 3.0 per 100,000, the highest among the age groups tracked. Of the hospitalized patients with influenza A subtype information available, most had A(H3N2), although the sample remains small and the dominant subtype can change as a season progresses.

National hospital reporting is moving in the same direction. CDC says 2,332 new influenza hospital admissions were reported for the week of October 16–22 and nearly 5,500 admissions had been recorded nationally since early October. Clinical-laboratory positivity also rose quickly, from 3.9% to 6.2% over a one-week interval.

## Influenza A remains dominant

The early season has been driven overwhelmingly by influenza A viruses. That pattern is significant because A(H3N2) seasons have historically produced substantial illness among older adults, although strain prevalence alone cannot predict how severe the full 2022–2023 season will become.

Public-health officials are therefore focused on trajectories rather than forecasts. Rising positivity, outpatient respiratory illness and hospitalization data provide a consistent signal that influenza circulation is increasing earlier than usual. The question is whether that momentum continues into November and December or pauses after an early regional wave.

CDC’s [2022–2023 vaccination guidance](https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169941?ref=theamericanquorum.com) recommends annual influenza vaccination for everyone 6 months and older who does not have a contraindication. It also expresses a preference for higher-dose, adjuvanted or recombinant vaccines for adults 65 and older when available, reflecting the greater risk of severe outcomes in that age group.

## Vaccination timing matters more when the season starts early

An early rise creates a simple logistical problem: some people who normally wait until late October or November to be vaccinated may be exposed before immunity has time to develop. Influenza vaccines generally require about two weeks to produce a strong immune response, so the benefit of acting before local transmission becomes intense is greater during an early season.

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ [2022–2023 policy statement](https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/150/4/e2022059274/189385/Recommendations-for-Prevention-and-Control-of?ref=theamericanquorum.com) recommends vaccination for all eligible children beginning at 6 months and stresses prompt antiviral treatment for children who are hospitalized, severely ill or at increased risk of complications. The guidance also notes that childhood vaccination coverage lagged during the previous season.

Vaccine composition was selected months before the current wave. The World Health Organization’s [Northern Hemisphere recommendation](https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/recommended-composition-of-influenza-virus-vaccines-for-use-in-the-2022-2023-northern-hemisphere-influenza-season?ref=theamericanquorum.com) identified the strains expected to be most relevant for this season, and FDA’s [March advisory-committee process](https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-calendar/vaccines-and-related-biological-products-advisory-committee-march-3-2022-meeting-announcement?ref=theamericanquorum.com) reviewed surveillance and candidate strains before U.S. manufacturers finalized production.

## Hospitals are watching a multi-virus winter

The healthcare challenge extends beyond influenza itself. COVID-19 remains an ongoing source of admissions, especially among older and medically vulnerable patients, while RSV activity is increasing among children in many regions. The simultaneous circulation of several respiratory viruses can create staffing and bed-capacity pressures even when none individually reaches an unprecedented national peak.

That is why the October data are being treated as an operational warning rather than merely a seasonal curiosity. Flu vaccination, appropriate use of antiviral medications, infection-control measures in healthcare settings and rapid diagnostic testing can all reduce avoidable hospital burden.

The evidence available at the end of October does not establish how severe the full winter will be. It does establish that the 2022–2023 influenza season is starting unusually fast. Hospitalization rates are higher than at the same point in any season of the past decade, test positivity is climbing and influenza A is dominant. For health systems and households, the traditional assumption that there is still plenty of time before flu season is no longer a safe one.