Flu Virus is Lingering in Oregon This Season, OHA Says

Like the unseasonably cold weather, flu season is hanging around, too.

“People continue to be hospitalized with the flu, at a time of the year when Oregon flu activity traditionally begins to wind down," the Oregon Health Department said in an email this week.

The 2024-2025 flu season has been the worst since the agency began tracking the seasonal virus 15 years ago, OHA said. As of March 8, 1,592 people have been hospitalized. Two children have died from flu in Oregon, marking the first deaths in two years.

Flu vaccination rates continued to fall in Oregon this year. So far this season, 1,289,040 flu doses have been administered, down from 1,315,569 last year. They have been falling since the 2020-21 flu season—the first year of COVID-19—when 1,593,991 doses went into arms.

Rates for vaccinations of all kinds have been falling since the COVID pandemic, as distrust in the jabs has grown. Nationally, for example, the vaccination rate for measles fell to 93% during the pandemic, below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S in 2000, with the only outbreaks coming from foreign travelers. So far this year, there have been 301 measles cases in the U.S., according to the CDC, with cases in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.

Oregon has reported one human case of bird flu. Nationwide, there have been 70 cases in humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and one death.

Though flu season is drawing to a close, it’s not too late to get vaccinated, OHA said.

“Late season surges are not uncommon, and Oregon’s flu season usually lasts well into April, sometimes May or even June,” OHA said in its weekly health email. “So if you haven’t gotten your flu vaccine yet this season, it’s not too late!”