At a glance
CDC continues to anticipate that the upcoming fall and winter respiratory disease season will likely result in a similar number of hospitalizations as last season.
Summary
What CDC knows
CDC’s Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics continues to anticipate that the upcoming fall and winter respiratory disease season will likely result in a similar number of hospitalizations as last season.
What CDC is doing
CDC will continue to monitor respiratory virus activity and update this outlook as we learn more. Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against serious outcomes of flu, COVID-19, and RSV. Vaccination is especially important for people who are at higher risk of developing serious complications.
What’s New?
On October 26, 2023, CDC published an update to its outlook for the respiratory disease season. Based on observed disease activity over the last month and new scenario models, CDC continues to anticipate that the upcoming fall and winter respiratory disease season will likely result in a similar number of hospitalizations as last season. While this number could be somewhat higher or lower than last season, the United States most likely will see greater hospitalizations than in seasons before the pandemic. This assessment remains unchanged from our previously published respiratory disease season outlook on September 14, 2023.
Making sure that you are up to date on the vaccines recommended for you is an important strategy to prevent severe disease and protect yourself and others around you. Higher levels of vaccination across the population will also help reduce the number of hospitalizations and risk of hospital strain.
Learn more about CDC's outlook for the upcoming respiratory disease season.