California is experiencing an alarming rise in flu cases for the 2024-2025 respiratory season, leading to more deaths than COVID-19. UC Davis Children's Hospital reports seeing significantly more flu patients compared to COVID-19 cases. From June 30 to Feb. 8, 11 pediatric deaths from the flu accounted for about 16% of the national total. With a recent positivity rate of around 26.7%, the state has recorded the highest flu-related fatalities since 2020, raising serious public health concerns as hospitals prepare for continued influx of cases.
This is a busy time of year, but we certainly have the capacity (to handle influenza cases)," he said.
UC Davis Children's Hospital has seen "five or 10 times more influenza (patients) than COVID (patients)" in 2025 alone, according to Dr. Dean Blumberg.
The only time California saw a higher flu test positivity rate in the past five respiratory virus seasons was during the week ending Feb. 1.
For the first time since 2020, the percentage of deaths attributable to the flu is higher than deaths attributed to COVID-19 in California.
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