CDC Officials: Flu Season Has Reached Epidemic Status
CDC has announced that this year's influenza season has qualified as an epidemic, with a hospitalization rate for all patients of 9.7 people per 100,000, compared with 4.3 people per 100,000 last year. Experts say almost every flu season achieves "epidemic" status, but it was reached unusually early in the season this year.
- "As Feared, It's a Season of High Flu Intensity" (Sanger-Katz, "The Upshot," New York Times, 12/30/14).