Overview

Respiratory disease surveillance overview

Data are updated weekly on Wednesdays from October–April. Most of the tables, charts, and maps in this report are interactive. Click on the column heading to sort the tables. Use the mouse cursor for maps and charts. You can sort, zoom, select, etc. Data will appear when you hover or click the mouse cursor. When you put the mouse cursor on the chart controls appear at the top right corner. Case and laboratory data that can be queried are available on the Public Health Indicator based Information System (IBIS).

Report date: February 11, 2026.

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What’s new this week?

COVID-19

COVID-19 activity is low in Utah. The best time to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine is now to be better protected from COVID-19 infection.

Influenza

Flu activity is decreasing but still circulating in Utah. It is still not too late to get a flu shot. The best time to get a flu shot is now to be better protected through the remaining winter months.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

RSV activity is increasing in Utah. Ask your doctor about how to stay healthy during RSV season. Older adults, very young children, and pregnant women may be eligible for vaccines or treatments to prevent RSV.

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Vaccination recommendations

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COVID-19

The updated COVID-19 vaccine is available to help protect against serious illness and hospitalization. The protection gained through past vaccination or infection wanes over time, and this vaccine more closely targets the Omicron subvariants currently circulating in Utah and around the country.

Who should get it? CDC recommends everyone 18 years of age or older receive at least 1 dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine. Parents of children ages 6 months to 17 years should discuss the benefits of vaccination with a healthcare provider. You can read more about CDC’s recommendations here.

When should I get it? You should get vaccinated as soon as possible to give you the best protection during winter months, when disease activity typically increases. If you have recently had COVID-19, you may consider delaying vaccination until 3 months after you recover.

Where can I get it? To find a COVID-19 vaccine, reach out to your healthcare provider, find a nearby provider here, or search your ZIP code at https://www.vaccines.gov/search/.

Influenza

Flu vaccines help reduce the spread of flu and decrease the risk of severe illness due to flu.

Who should get it? Everyone older than 6 months of age should get a flu vaccine every year with rare exceptions. For people aged 65+, some vaccines are recommended over others. You can read more about CDC’s recommendations here, and your provider can help you find the best vaccine for you.

When should I get it? You should get a flu vaccine each year close to the beginning of the flu season (October). If you are not able to at this time, you can still get it in the following months to receive protection.

Where can I get it? To find a flu vaccine, reach out to your health care provider or local health department, or search your ZIP code at https://www.vaccines.gov/search/.

RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV) is a respiratory virus that typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms. For certain groups, RSV infection can be more serious. Infants and older adults are more likely to experience worse symptoms and require hospitalization. Vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments are available to provide additional protection against serious illness.

Who should get it? Adults 75 years of age and older should receive a single dose of RSV vaccine. Adults 60-74 years old at increased risk for severe RSV disease should also receive a single dose of RSV vaccine. You can read more about CDC’s recommendations here.

Infants younger than 8 months should receive 1 dose of nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment. Additionally, infants and children 8-19 months of age who are at increased risk for severe RSV disease should receive 1 dose of the antibody treatment. Children younger than 24 months of age with certain conditions that make them more susceptible to severe RSV disease may be eligible for palivizumab, a different antibody treatment. You can read the American Academy of Pediatricians’ recommendations here.

People who will be 32 to 36 weeks pregnant between September and January should get 1 dose of maternal RSV vaccine to protect their babies.

When should I get it? If you are in one of the groups above, you should get the RSV vaccine or antibody treatment as early in the season as possible.

Where can I get it? To find a RSV vaccine or antibody treatment, reach out to your healthcare provider or a pharmacist near you.

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Syndromic surveillance: COVID-19, influenza, and RSV

The graphs below show data reported by emergency departments (EDs) which submit syndromic surveillance data to the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) at the CDC. Currently, 49 of Utah’s EDs submit data. These data reflect the 7-day average of both the total number of visits and the percentage of visits that match CDC’s national syndromic definitions for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. These definitions only consider the diagnosis discharge codes for each condition, since January 1, 2019. These data are reported before someone is tested and are intended to provide indications of trends occurring throughout Utah. The numbers and percentages presented are based on the patient’s address of residence when visiting an ED. For example, if a Davis County resident visits a Salt Lake County ED, the count will be associated with the Davis County numbers.

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Statewide percentage of ED visits

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Percentage of ED visits by age group

Percentage of ED visits by LHD

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Hospital occupancy: COVID-19, influenza, and RSV

Beginning on November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires all U.S. hospitals to electronically report information about COVID-19, influenza, RSV, and hospital bed capacity to CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) on a weekly basis. The following data are taken from the NHSN reports and help provide awareness of the impact of these respiratory diseases on Utah’s healthcare system. The percentage of beds used by disease represents the number of patients hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, influenza, RSV, and the total number of patients hospitalized (for any cause), compared to the overall hospital bed capacity.

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Statewide total inpatient bed utilization

Statewide ICU bed utilization

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Mortality surveillance: pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 (PIC)

Each week, we collect the total number of death certificates received and the number of certificates for which pneumonia, influenza (flu), or COVID-19 was listed as an immediate, underlying, or contributing cause of death. The percentage of deaths due to pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 are compared with a seasonal baseline and predicted epidemic threshold, which are based on data from past flu seasons. These data are used to monitor the severity of pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 illness in the community.

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Percentage of mortality attributed to PIC

Percentage of mortality by illness

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Data background

Mortality percentage: The percentage of mortality attributed to COVID-19 includes only death certificates that list COVID-19 as a cause of death but not influenza. The percentage of mortality attributed to pneumonia and influenza includes only death certificates that list pneumonia and/or influenza as a cause of death but not COVID-19. Thus, death certificates that list both influenza and COVID-19 as causes of death are only included in the percentage of mortality attributed to pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 (PIC). There may be a lag in mortality reporting due to the time it takes to investigate and complete death certificates.

The methodology used for this report was adapted from the CDC FluView model for Mortality Surveillance.

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Data for this report were accessed on February 11, 2026 12:00 AM.

COVID-19

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COVID-19 surveillance

Report date: February 11, 2026

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About COVID-19

COVID-19 most often causes respiratory symptoms that can feel much like a cold, the flu, or pneumonia. COVID-19 may attack more than your lungs and respiratory system. Other parts of your body may also be affected by the disease. Most people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, but some people become severely ill. There are many actions you can take to help protect you, your household, and your community from COVID-19, including staying up to date on your COVID-19 vaccine. Find more information on the CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance.

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COVID-19 severity measures at a glance

This week, Utah reported:

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Percent of Emergency Departments (ED) Visits Diagnosed with COVID-19

0.29%

COVID-19 hospitalizations (2025-2026 respiratory season)

166

Wastewater Elevated

5.7%

Wastewater Increasing

28.6%

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What’s in this report?

COVID-19 surveillance in Utah consists of syndromic surveillance, wastewater surveillance, hospitalizations, deaths, and immunizations.

  • Syndromic surveillance looks at the percentage of people going to emergency departments (EDs) who have COVID-19 like symptoms. It is a measure of community transmission that is not based on testing. Syndromic surveillance may lag behind community transmission because it takes time for people to develop symptoms severe enough to require an emergency department visit. For more information about COVID-19 syndromic surveillance, see the Overview tab of this dashboard.

  • Wastewater surveillance is often an early indicator that the number of people who have COVID-19 in a community is increasing or decreasing. Wastewater monitoring does not depend on the availability of individual testing, people having access to healthcare, or people seeking healthcare when sick. This makes it an efficient and cost-effective way to gather data about COVID-19 transmission trends.

  • Hospitalizations and deaths show the most severe outcomes due to COVID-19. These outcomes often happen days to weeks after a person is first diagnosed with COVID-19. Therefore, these metrics may also lag behind community transmission.

  • Immunizations show the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Utah as reported to the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIS). This data may be incomplete, as COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer required to be reported to USIIS, although most healthcare facilities still report.

Note: Number of people with COVID-19 infections is no longer a reliable indicator of transmission levels in the community due to the decrease in overall testing and an increase in the use of at-home test kits, which are not reported to DHHS.

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Wastewater surveillance

Wastewater surveillance data is an early indicator of COVID-19 transmission trends in the community. People who are infected with COVID-19 shed viral RNA (genetic material from the virus) in their feces. This RNA can be detected and measured in samples of community wastewater. Visit the Utah Wastewater Surveillance System for more information, to see a map, and to explore the data.

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Wastewater Surveillance Summary: Level

Wastewater Level Number of Sites Percent of Sites
Extremely elevated 0 0%
Very elevated 1 2.9%
Elevated 1 2.9%
Watch 11 31.4%
Low 16 45.7%
Very low 6 17.1%
Insufficient data 0 0%

Wastewater Surveillance Summary: Trend

Wastewater Trend Number of Sites Percent of Sites
Increasing 10 28.6%
Plateau/indeterminate 20 57.1%
Decreasing 4 11.4%
Insufficient data 1 2.9%

Wastewater Surveillance Info

Currently, 35 municipal wastewater facilities across Utah are sampled twice per week, covering roughly 88% of the state’s population. Levels of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA are quantified, providing an indicator of the status and trends of COVID-19 infections in the community.

Insufficient Data: not enough recent data to determine current levels and/or trend at a site.

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Hospitalizations

COVID-19 associated hospitalizations are either reported automatically if a person is an inpatient at the time of a positive COVID-19 lab result or identified through local public health investigations.

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COVID-19 hospitalization incidence

COVID-19 hospitalizations by age

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Hospitalization epidemic curve status

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The map below looks at how the trend in hospitalizations is changing over time and assigns a trend category to each health jurisdiction, based on whether the 7-day daily average of cases is increasing, staying stable, or decreasing.

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Epidemic curve status by jurisdiction

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Data note

Trend categories are calculated by using the daily hospitalization incidence rate per 100,000 people, finding the 7-day moving average of daily incidence rates, fitting a smoothed curve to these incidence rates, and looking at the slope of that curve. If the slope of the curve is increasing, incidence is increasing. If the slope is about zero, incidence is holding stable (a plateau). If the slope is decreasing after at least 3 days of plateau, incidence is decreasing.
Note: Daily incidence is dependent on testing. Daily incidence may be artificially low if people do not choose to get tested or incidence may suddenly increase if many people go to get tested.

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Mortality demographics

The tables below present summary statistics on annual COVID-19-associated deaths in Utah, broken down by age group, as well as by race and ethnicity. Deaths are reported by clinicians, death certificates, and case investigators. See the data notes below for more information on how DHHS determines COVID-19 deaths. For information about weekly death trends associated with COVID-19, see the Overview tab of this dashboard.

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Annual deaths by age group

Annual deaths by race/ethnicity

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Immunizations

To learn more about who is currently eligible to receive the vaccine, where you can receive the vaccine, and how the vaccine works, visit Utah’s Coronavirus Vaccine Webpage. Data below represent all doses administered in Utah and reported to USIIS, the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System.

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Percent of all Utahns who are vaccinated

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Percent all Utahns completed primary series

Percent all Utahns received at least one dose ever

Percent all Utahns received a at least one dose in 2025

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Vaccination counts

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People who completed the primary series is anyone who has ever completed their primary vaccine series, either 2 doses of a 2-dose vaccine (like Pfizer, Moderna, or Novavax) or 1 dose of a 1-dose vaccine (like Johnson and Johnson).
People who received at least 1 dose ever is anyone who has ever received 1 or more doses of a 2-dose vaccine (like Pfizer, Moderna, or Novavax), a 1-dose vaccine (like Johnson and Johnson), or a bivalent booster even if they haven’t completed their primary series.
People who received at least 1 dose in 2025 is anyone who, in 2025, has received 1 or more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether there is documentation in USIIS that they completed their primary series. These categories are not mutually exclusive.

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People completed primary series

1,987,618

People received at least one dose ever

2,231,576

People received at least one dose in 2025

49,930

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Data notes

Death counts: Deaths reported by DHHS include confirmed and probable cases as defined by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) case definition. This includes: 1) confirmed cases with a positive COVID-19 PCR result and no alternative cause of death noted on the death certificate or reported by the Office of the Medical Examiner (OME), 2) probable cases where the death certificate lists COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death and no alternative cause of death reported by the OME, and 3) probable cases with COVID-19 symptoms and close contact to a laboratory confirmed case and no alternative cause of death reported by the OME or the death certificate. Death counts are provisional and subject to change as investigations are completed.

Laboratory: DHHS receives positive and negative test results for healthcare providers, laboratories, and testing sites across the state. At-home tests are generally not reported. Positive test results are reported within 3 business days.

Case definitions: DHHS assigns case status following the national case definition, with the exception of considering positive antigen tests as probable cases. A confirmed case is any person with a positive SARS-CoV2 PCR or antigen test.



Data for this report were accessed on February 11, 2026 12:00 AM. Population data used for calculating rates are based on estimates from IBIS.

Influenza

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Influenza (flu) surveillance

Report date: February 01 to February 07, 2026 (MMWR week 5)

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About the flu

Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by a virus that infects the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Those who are at high risk of complications due to flu include children younger than 5 years old, people older than age 65, pregnant people, and people who have certain pre-existing conditions such as asthma, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart disease, or have had a stroke. Luckily, there are steps you and your family can take to fight the flu and stay healthy this flu season. Find more information on the CDC site for Influenza (Flu).

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  • The best way to prevent flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year. You can find flu vaccine providers here.

  • Take preventive actions to stop the spread of germs. Wash your hands, cover your cough, and stay home from work or school when you are sick.

  • Take influenza antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them.

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Flu severity measures at a glance

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The gauges below indicate the severity of the current flu season based on historical data from previous seasons. A green gauge indicates low severity, orange indicates moderate severity, red indicates high severity, and purple indicates very high severity.

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Influenza-associated hospitalizations (2025-2026 season)

1,622

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Current week influenza-associated hospitalization (IAH) incidence (per 100,000 people)*

Current week influenza-like illness rate (out of all outpatient visits)**

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What’s in this report?

Flu surveillance in Utah tracks hospitalizations, syndromic surveillance (emergency department and outpatient visits), laboratory surveillance, and deaths.

  • Influenza-associated hospitalizations (IAH) looks at the rate of people who are hospitalized and have a positive influenza laboratory test within a specific time frame. This metric may lag by days to weeks behind community transmission.

  • Syndromic surveillance for influenza consists of:

    • Emergency department (ED) visits due to symptoms compatible with influenza. For information about influenza ED visits, see the Overview tab of this dashboard.

    • All outpatient visits (including ED visits) due to an influenza-like illness (ILI). ILI is defined as fever (temperature of 100ºF or greater) and a cough and/or sore throat. Both of these are measures of community transmission that are not based on testing.

  • Laboratory surveillance looks at which influenza strains are most commonly circulating during the current respiratory season.

  • Deaths represent the most severe outcome due to influenza. Since many people who die from influenza-related complications are never tested for influenza, we report the number of deaths due to influenza and pneumonia combined. For information about influenza and pneumonia deaths, see the Overview tab of this dashboard.

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Influenza-associated hospitalizations (IAH)

Influenza-associated hospitalization (IAH) is a reportable condition in Utah. People meet the case definition for flu hospitalization if they are hospitalized for any length of time and have a positive influenza laboratory test within a specific time frame. More information about this definition can be found on the Seasonal influenza disease plan. Public health in Utah gathers a variety of data on influenza hospitalizations, including clinical features, course of illness, risk and protective factors, and influenza type and subtype. Data from influenza hospitalizations allow public health officials in Utah to better understand the groups of people most severely affected by influenza and help guide prevention messages and interventions. Data collection for the 2025-2026 influenza season began on September 28, 2025.

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Influenza-associated hospitalization (IAH) incidence

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Cumulative influenza-associated hospitalization (IAH) incidence

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Influenza-associated hospitalization (IAH) map

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Influenza-associated hospitalizations by age

Influenza-associated hospitalizations by jurisdiction

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Influenza-like illness (ILI)

The U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) is a national system that conducts surveillance for ILI in outpatient healthcare facilities, including emergency departments. For this system, ILI is defined as fever (temperature of 100ºF or greater) and a cough and/or sore throat. These data provide an indication of ILI circulating in the community.

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Current Utah ILI activity rate

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Local ILI Activity

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Data note

The ILI activity in local health department jurisdictions is calculated differently than the state severity above. Local ILI levels are based on the comparison between current ILI reports and jurisdictional baselines. These methods are similar to the methods used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to measure state-specific ILI activity. More information on the methods used to calculate jurisdictional ILI activity can be found here.

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Influenza-like illness activity map

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Influenza-like illness table

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2025-2026 Laboratory surveillance and viral classification

The Utah National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (UT-NEDSS) maintains influenza testing results from hospital laboratories and the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL). UPHL tests influenza specimens to determine influenza type and subtype. A portion of specimens are also sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional typing and characterization. The results below include positive influenza tests reported to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services from both hospitals and outpatient facilities.


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Influenza virus identification

Detected influenza A strains

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Laboratory influenza testing: positive specimens by type/subtype

Report week
2025-26 season
Weekly count Weekly percentage Count Percentage
Influenza A 397 44.8% 9125 74.0%
Influenza A seasonal H1 3 0.8% 172 1.9%
Influenza A seasonal H3 16 4.0% 848 9.3%
Influenza A, unsubtyped 378 95.2% 8105 88.8%
Influenza B 474 53.5% 2949 23.9%

Data note

Influenza A viruses can be typed into different strains. The most common subtypes of influenza A viruses found in people are influenza A (H1N1) and influenza A (H3N2). In the spring of 2009, a new influenza A (H1N1) virus emerged that caused severe illness in humans. This new virus was very different from the human influenza A (H1N1) viruses circulating at that time and caused the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years. That virus (often called “2009 H1N1”) has now replaced the H1N1 virus that was previously circulating in humans. Some influenza tests are unable to differentiate between influenza A strains, so many positive influenza A results reported to DHHS are unsubtyped.

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Immunizations

For information about flu immunization uptake in Utah, visit Utah’s Immunization dashboard. For information about flu immunization uptake in the U.S. by demographics, see the “Data & Charts” section of the CDC’s Weekly Flu Vaccination Dashboard.

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Data note on flu severity measures

For the 2018-2019 flu season, DHHS (previously UDOH) adopted a new methodology to determine flu season severity called the moving epidemic method. Based on data from past flu seasons, DHHS uses key flu indicator data to develop intensity thresholds (ITs) to classify the severity of flu seasons from low to very high. The indicators used in Utah include only:

  1. Incidence of influenza-associated hospitalizations (IAH) per 100,000 population*
  2. Percentage of patient visits reported to ILInet (national influenza-like illness reporting system), defined as the percentage of outpatient visits with fever and cough and/or sore throat**

Indicators below the IT50 threshold are shown in green in the gauges and plots below, and are considered low severity. Indicators between IT50 and IT90 (yellow) are considered moderate severity, indicators between IT90 and IT98 (red) are considered high severity, and indicators above IT98 are considered very high severity (purple). This methodology was published by CDC researchers in the American Journal of Epidemiology in October 2017.

RSV

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RSV surveillance

Report date: February 07, 2026

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About RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat, and lungs. RSV symptoms make it difficult to distinguish it from the common cold or other respiratory viruses (like the flu or COVID-19). RSV does not usually cause severe illness in healthy adults and children. However, some people with RSV infection, especially infants younger than 6 months of age and older adults, can become very sick and may need to be hospitalized. Take preventive actions to stop the spread of germs: wash your hands, cover your cough, and stay home from work or school when you are sick. Older adults, very young children, and pregnant women may be eligible for vaccines or treatments to prevent RSV. Find more information on the CDC site for RSV.

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Laboratory surveillance

Effective December 2019, it became a requirement for electronic reporters to report positive RSV lab results. The electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) data shown below may give some insight into overall disease trends, but the numbers shown should be interpreted with caution. ELR numbers are not a comprehensive count of all individuals who are infected with RSV in the state of Utah. Additionally, some local health departments may not be adequately represented in these data due to a lack of electronic reporters servicing their jurisdiction.

For additional information on disease reporting regulations, visit the DHHS Disease reporting FAQ page.

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Positive RSV labs reported via ELR by week

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Positive RSV labs reported by age group

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Data note

Although DHHS does not track hospitalizations or deaths as a result of RSV, Salt Lake County participates in the national Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET). Cases reported through RESP-NET are representative of people who live in Salt Lake County only. RSV hospitalization data reported through RESP-NET can be accessed through the RSV-NET Interactive Dashboard.