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The CDC is warning that respiratory illnesses are on the rise, including COVID-19. Is this a season spike, or is there something more serious going on?

From The Epoch Times. U.S. health officials have warned that respiratory virus activity is on the rise, with overall activity trending at moderate levels across the United States.

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Influenza has risen about 5.1 percent week-over-week, according to the most recent update issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Dec. 20. …

A data-based map published by the CDC also shows that the majority of states are at moderate levels for respiratory infections. Three states—Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Tennessee—are seeing high levels of infections, according to the map.

Around the United States, test positivity for influenza increased to 9 percent, COVID-19 “increased slightly” to 5.6 percent, and RSV positivity increased to 9.5 percent, the CDC said.

The agency separately said that seasonal flu activity is continuing to increase, while saying that COVID-19 is “predicted to increase” in the coming days. …

Thirteen states reported high or very high levels of flu-like illness last week, about double from the week before. One is Tennessee, where a sickness spike is hitting the Nashville area, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University. …

As of Dec. 10, according to the CDC, estimates show that flu virus infections are “growing or likely growing” in 39 states, and declining or likely declining in no states while remaining unchanged in two.

However, the most recent CDC data show COVID-19 hospitalizations have been declining since summer. COVID-19 activity is moderate nationally but high in the Midwest, according to CDC wastewater data. …

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(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Photo Credit: James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)