Two infants have died of the flu in the first two weeks of the year, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
No children died of the seasonal flu during the 2023-24 season, which runs from September to May, according to the department. One of the deaths occurred the first week of the year, and another this week.
“Even one pediatric flu death is a tremendous loss,” Dr. Olusimbo Ige, the city’s health commissioner, said in a statement. “We express sincere condolences to the families of these children. Respiratory virus season is in full swing, and vaccination remains the best way to protect against severe illness, including in children.”
Emergency room visits for the flu more than doubled from the last week of 2024 to the first week of 2025, surpassing last season’s peak, according to a Jan. 3 city report. Intenstive-care admissions also spiked.
Test positivity for flu, RSV and COVID-19 had been increasing through at least mid-December, when the last data was available, according to the health department.
Influenza is the cause of nearly 6,000 deaths nationwide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.