A mild U.S. flu season is waning, but is it really over?

A mild U.S. flu season is waning, but is it really over? Here's the question experts are asking themselves about the 2021-2022 flu season: "Is this it, or is there more to come?" Patrick Skerrett STAT

NEW YORK — This winter’s mild flu season is fading to a trickle of cases in much of the U.S., but health officials aren’t ready to say it’s over.

Since the beginning of the year, positive flu test results and doctor’s office visits for flu-like illness are down. But second waves of influenza are not unusual, and some experts said it’s possible a late winter or spring surge could be coming.

“The question we’re asking ourselves now is: ‘Is this it, or is there more to come?'” said Lynnette Brammer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Covid-19 cases have been falling, leading to a decline in mask wearing and behaviors that may have been keeping flu down this winter. As people are less cautious, flu or other respiratory viruses can surge, Brammer said.

Indeed, some indicators of flu activity have inched up the last couple of weeks: a count of flu-related hospitalizations and the% of specimens from patients with respiratory illnesses that test positive for flu. ...