Despite a decline in the number of flu cases in New Mexico at the start of the year, the state still has some of the highest levels in the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of people with flu and flu-like symptoms dropped in all but Northeastern New Mexico in the first week of January, according to the most recent . Cases remain highest in the Southeast, where they make up over 15% of hospital and clinic visits compared to the state鈥檚 baseline of just over 4.5%.
CDC Epidemiologist Krista Kniss said these respiratory diseases are elevated nationwide, but 鈥渢hose levels of people seeking care for things like influenza are very high in New Mexico.鈥�
shows New Mexico had the highest level of flu activity in the nation along with Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina for the week ending January 6. Still, Kniss said the numbers aren鈥檛 out of the ordinary if you discount the 2020 through 2022 seasons, when COVID precautions kept flu levels way down.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 consider this an extremely severe season or an extremely mild season,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 somewhere in the middle.鈥�
It鈥檚 not too late for people over 6 months old to get a flu vaccine, which Kniss said is the best way to prevent illness or at least stave off any severe complications, 鈥渋ncluding hospitalization.鈥�
鈥淎nd people do die from influenza,鈥� she added.
She said preliminary data suggests this year鈥檚 vaccine is a good match for the viruses circulating.
The state Health Department considers the number of New Mexicans who鈥檝e gotten the flu vaccine 鈥渧ery low.鈥� While data wasn鈥檛 available in the last two weekly reports, only around a quarter of the state had gotten vaccinated
