--- title: Flu Activity Is Finally Decreasing, CDC Says description: The CDC says there were 13 pediatric flu deaths last week. While flu activity is still high, the end of the deadly flu season may be near. canonical: https://time.com/5172552/flu-season-cdc-update/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-23T17:12:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:24:55.319Z article:section: Health og:title: Flu Season May Finally Be Winding Down, CDC Says og:description: But it still killed 13 kids last week og:url: https://time.com/5172552/flu-season-cdc-update/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8702c4a74da6a5db/698928ba7cdbac513ad5c136/flu-shot1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Flu clinic og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Flu Season May Finally Be Winding Down, CDC Says twitter:description: But it still killed 13 kids last week twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8702c4a74da6a5db/698928ba7cdbac513ad5c136/flu-shot1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Flu Killed 13 Children Last Week But May Be Winding Down, CDC Says > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Feb 23, 2018 5:12 PM UTC  A man receives a flu shot at a free clinic. A man receives a flu shot at a free clinic. Portland Press Herald—Press Herald via Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Feb 23, 2018 5:12 PM UTC This year’s sweeping flu season may be starting to wind down, but activity is still high throughout the country, [according to the CDC’s latest update](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm#ILIMap). The percentage of people seeing doctors for flu-related symptoms dropped from 7.4% of all visits last week to 6.4% this week — a rate still well above average rates in the U.S., but the first noticeable dip of the season, according to CDC data. However, 13 more pediatric deaths were reported on Friday, bringing the season’s total to nearly 100\. With weeks of flu season potentially still to go, that number is likely to climb higher. **MORE**: [The Nasal Flu Vaccine Is Set to Come Back Next Year. Here’s What to Know About It](http://time.com/5170514/flumist-nasal-spray-flu-vaccine/) Illness and hospitalization rates also remain high, with most of the continental U.S. reporting widespread flu activity. [CDC officials have said](http://time.com/5130415/cdc-flu-update-high-hospitalization-rates/) that by season’s end, hospital admissions are likely to exceed the 710,000 seen during the high-severity flu season of 2014-2015, which likely means elevated death rates as well. Nearly 10% of deaths recorded during the week ending Feb. 3, for example, were attributable to the flu, Friday’s report says. H3N2, the severe influenza strain dominating most of this season, is to blame for those sobering statistics, according to the CDC. Vaccines were [only 25% effective against the virus](http://time.com/5160213/flu-shot-effectiveness-2018/) subtype this year, according to CDC reports, and the strain results in more frequent and serious infections. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5172552/flu-season-cdc-update/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5172552/flu-season-cdc-update/"},"headline":"Flu Killed 13 Children Last Week But May Be Winding Down, CDC Says","datePublished":"2018-02-23T17:12:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:24:55.319Z","description":"The end of flu season may be near","url":"https://time.com/5172552/flu-season-cdc-update/","keywords":["Public Health","flu","flu season","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8702c4a74da6a5db/698928ba7cdbac513ad5c136/flu-shot1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8702c4a74da6a5db/698928ba7cdbac513ad5c136/flu-shot1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Flu clinic","caption":"Flu clinic","creditText":"Portland Press Herald—Press Herald via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5172552/flu-season-cdc-update/","name":"Flu Killed 13 Children Last Week But May Be Winding Down, CDC Says"}}]}] ```