Flu cases up due to lagging vaccinations and better tests

“Our flu season is going to last through the end of March,” said Valerie E. Cadet, professor of microbiology and immunology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia located in Suwanee. “Antivirals like Tamiflu can reduce symptoms and shorten illness by a few days.”

Antiviral flu drugs work best when started within one to two days after flu symptoms begin, according to the CDC.

So far this flu season, 2,972 people in metro Atlanta have been hospitalized, a 15.5% decrease compared to 3,518 in 2024.

Influenza-related deaths in Georgia stand at 25 so far in 2025, slightly lower than 29 in 2024, and a 36.9% decrease from 2023.

Over the last decade, influenza outbreaks statewide have tripled: from 32 in 2015 to 98 in 2025.

Cadet said the increase is due, in part, to a growing population in metro Atlanta, but also to lagging vaccination rates and better testing and reporting regimes.

During the 2023–24 flu season, 55.4% of children in the U.S. ages 6 months through 17 years old got the flu vaccine — 8.3% fewer than in the pre-pandemic 2019–20 season. Flu vaccination coverage among children was even lower during the 2011–12 season, standing at 51.5%, according to the CDC.

Adults didn’t fair much better. During last year’s flu season, just 44.9% of Americans over 18 received the vaccine. Coverage has steadily declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, though experts are unsure why. During the 2017–18 flu season, just 37.1% of adults got a flu vaccine, the CDC said.

The metro Atlanta population grew 22.3% from 4,272,300 in 2014 to 5,221,074 in 2024, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission, so population growth alone doesn’t account for a near doubling of flu outbreaks over the past decade, Cadet said.

Dr. Danny Branstetter, director of infection prevention at Wellstar Health System, says this year’s flu season is experiencing a double peak, which could drive up cases and hospitalizations.

“We see our normal surge of cases increase around the holidays in metro Atlanta,” he said. “We did see lower hospitalization cases compared to the last five years, which is good news. But now, in February, we are seeing a second peak.”

Branstetter said better at-home tests and rapid tests at clinics are doing a better job picking up flu cases than was possible a decade ago.

“The good news is the surveillance is going up, and we are looking now at the specific strains, including avian flu,” he said. “We are testing and looking for it. It’s always good to test, and not too late to get vaccinated.”

There are two types of flu vaccines for use in the United States: injectables and nasal spray, and all are extremely safe, according to the FDA.

There are four FDA-approved antiviral drugs recommended by the CDC to treat flu this season: oseltamivir phosphate (available as a generic version or under the trade name Tamiflu), zanamivir (trade name Relenza), peramivir (trade name Rapivab) and baloxavir marboxil (trade name Xofluza).

To reduce the odds of catching the flu and colds, experts say consider tried-and-true prevention methods like hand washing and mask wearing. Taking zinc and vitamin C has also been proven to help the immune system fight the virus. Saline nasal sprays can reduce symptoms, too, and gargling with salt water has been shown to be beneficial, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this week.