As spring approaches, the flu season is far from over. Serious cases of influenza are rising, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), as are outpatient visits to health care providers for flu, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and norovirus.
“Public health experts earlier this year voiced concerns that we are facing a ‘quad-demic’ of these four viruses,” said Urvashi Patel, Ph.D., vice president of the Evernorth Research Institute. “To help their members avoid getting very sick, health plans must encourage them to take precautions to protect themselves, including vaccinations and other preventive measures.” Preventive measures include practicing good hygiene like properly washing hands with soap and water frequently, avoiding other sick individuals with symptoms, cleaning surfaces frequently, and not consuming contaminated food since the norovirus is foodborne. The flu in particular seems to be driving the upward trend as weekly prevalence of illnesses and deaths have surpassed those from COVID or other acute viruses.
According to the Evernorth Research Institute’s analysis of pharmacy claims data for more than 29 million people during the current and past flu seasons, the proportion of prescriptions for anti-viral medications for flu per person has increased since December. “The most recent estimates from the CDC also show that the number of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths from the flu have risen sharply,” Patel said. As of the week ending February 8, at least 29 million cases of the flu have been diagnosed this season, resulting in 370,000 hospitalizations and 16,000 deaths (68 of which were among children). In fact, it has been classified for the first time by the CDC as “a high severity season since 2017-2018,” Patel said.
Prevalence of all patients with anti-viral medication prescriptions for flu by seasons: 2021-22 through 2024-25
Who is impacted most by the flu?
Vaccinations are advocated as the best way to protect against the flu especially among groups at high risk for complications. While the flu can impact anyone, disparities by age, insurance status, geographic region and level of social needs in anti-viral medication prescriptions and flu vaccination rates exist. Observations of higher anti-viral medication prescriptions and lower vaccination rates suggest the need to raise more awareness among certain groups.
Among those prescribed anti-viral medications for flu, children and teenagers younger than 18 tend to have a higher rate, suggesting higher need for them than older people, Evernorth found.
Prevalence of anti-viral medication prescriptions for flu by age groups (years) for current flu season: 2024-2025
Evernorth’s analysis also found that patients covered by Medicaid had a higher use of anti-viral medications compared to patients covered by Medicare or commercial health plans. This corresponds with our findings on week 17, which showed that patients on Medicaid have the lowest rate of flu vaccinations with 450 per 1,000,000 versus 1,485 per 1,000,000 and 1,104 per 1,000,000 for Medicare and commercial respectively.
Prevalence of flu vaccinations among adults only (18+ years old) by insurance type for current flu season: 2024-2025
While flu activity is very high across the U.S., regional differences in vaccination rates and anti-viral medication prescriptions are evident. An inverse correlation between the proportion of prescriptions and vaccinations for the flu was observed in our analysis. “The Southern U.S. has the highest proportion of anti-viral prescriptions and the lowest vaccination rate, while the Northeast has the lowest proportion of prescriptions and the highest vaccination rate,” Patel said. “In addition, people living in areas with higher social needs were less likely to receive flu vaccinations.”
Prevalence of flu vaccinations among adults only (18+) by level of social needs for current flu season: 2024-2025
Other respiratory illnesses continue to circulate
As the flu season continues, other respiratory illnesses are also prevalent. On February 14, the CDC reported high levels of acute respiratory illnesses causing people to seek care. Evernorth analysis shows that since week 11 of the current season, there has been a rise in other respiratory illnesses that warrant anti-viral and antibiotic prescriptions, suggesting that people are sick and seeking care.
Dr. Vontrelle Roundtree, associate chief medical officer for MD Live at Evernorth, said these findings demonstrate the importance of vaccinations and noted that the need for precautions continues, especially when people take part in gatherings that can fuel the spread of flu and other respiratory diseases. According to the latest data from Evernorth’s MD Live for current flu season, urgent care virtual visits for respiratory issues increased by 22.4% in November over the previous month, followed by a 49.2% increase in December. In addition, MD Live has seen a steady increase in prescriptions for Paxlovid to treat COVID-19 since the start of the flu season.
Paxlovid prescriptions in MD Live urgent care sessions
“There is still time to get vaccinated,” Dr. Roundtree said.
