Respiratory viruses usually cause mild or moderate illness such as colds, but lower respiratory infections can lead to hospitalization and death. CDC tracks them through six national surveillance systems. This report covers July 2024–June 2025 for SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 virus), RSV, influenza, human metapneumovirus (hMPV), rhinovirus/enterovirus, parainfluenza, common human coronaviruses and adenoviruses. (CDC reports influenza separately in more detail.)
Key findings
- COVID-19: estimated 290,000–450,000 hospitalizations and 34,000–53,000 deaths; hospitalization rates were highest in adults 75 and older and infants under 6 months.
- RSV: estimated 190,000–350,000 hospitalizations and 10,000–23,000 deaths; rates were highest in infants under a year.
- Every circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineage descended from Omicron JN.1 — the first season without a strain replacement since the pandemic began.
- SARS-CoV-2, rhinovirus/enterovirus and parainfluenza had two peaks; RSV and influenza had one.
When each virus peaked
| Virus | Peak share of tests positive | Week ending |
|---|---|---|
| SARS-CoV-2 | 17.9%, then 6.7% | August 10, 2024; January 4, 2025 |
| Rhinovirus/enterovirus | 30.4%, then 22.3% | September 21, 2024; May 10, 2025 |
| RSV | 11.0% | December 21, 2024 |
| Influenza (clinical labs) | 31.6% | February 1, 2025 |
| Common human coronaviruses | 8.3% | February 22, 2025 |
| hMPV | 7.4% | April 19, 2025 |
| Parainfluenza 1–4 | 5.6%, then 9.4% | November 23, 2024; May 31, 2025 |
| Adenovirus | No elevated period | — |
Weekly percentage of tests positive for respiratory viruses, June 30, 2024–June 28, 2025. From CDC's MMWR.
- SARS-CoV-2: of 3,961,594 PCR tests from 297 labs, 6.6% were positive. Positivity fell to 4.0% in mid-November between the peaks and to 2.7% in late May.
- RSV: of 3,767,034 tests, 4.8% were positive. The national season ran from the week ending November 9, 2024, to March 29, 2025; it started earliest in Florida (late September), then the South and Southeast — the typical pre-pandemic October–April pattern.
Hospitalizations and deaths
| Age group | COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 |
|---|---|
| 75+ | 932.6 |
| Under 6 months | 285.6 |
| 65–74 | 274.4 |
| 50–64 | 104.7 |
| 6–23 months | 104.1 |
| Age group | RSV hospitalizations per 100,000 |
|---|---|
| Under 12 months | 1,116.7 |
| 12–23 months | 770.6 |
| 75+ | 426.9 |
COVID-19 (top) and RSV (bottom) hospitalizations per 100,000 people by age, July 2024–June 2025. From CDC's MMWR.
| COVID-19 | RSV | |
|---|---|---|
| Death certificates listing the virus | 34,981 — 88.4% aged 65+, 0.5% under 18 | 672 — 82.1% aged 65+, 4.6% under 18 |
| Estimated illnesses | 10.4–16.7 million | — |
| Estimated outpatient visits | 2.5–4 million | 3.6–6.5 million |
| Estimated hospitalizations | 290,000–450,000 | 190,000–350,000 |
| Estimated deaths | 34,000–53,000 | 10,000–23,000 |
Death certificates undercount, since not everyone who dies is tested and some deaths are attributed to complications like heart attack or pneumonia; the modeled estimates account for that.
Variants and subtypes
- CDC analyzed 92,703 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from 56 jurisdictions. KP.3.1.1-like and LP.8.1 lineages each made up more than half of sequences in at least one 4-week period, and XFG approached dominance by late June 2025.
- Of 630 subtyped RSV specimens, 64.8% were RSV-A, 32.4% RSV-B and 2.9% both.
Protection
- COVID-19: the 2025–26 vaccines, based on the JN.1 lineage with a preference for an LP.8.1-like strain, are expected to protect against severe disease, including from XFG. Vaccination during pregnancy is the only way to protect infants under 6 months, who can't be vaccinated.
- RSV in infants: after new prevention products arrived, RSV hospitalization rates for infants 0–7 months fell 28%–43% compared with earlier seasons. Options for a baby's first RSV season: a maternal vaccine at 32–36 weeks of pregnancy, or a long-acting antibody — nirsevimab or clesrovimab — for infants under 8 months.
- RSV in adults: one dose of RSV vaccine is recommended for everyone 75 and older and for adults 50–74 at increased risk.
- Everyone: stay up to date on vaccines, wash hands, clean common surfaces, improve ventilation and stay home when sick. Antivirals for COVID-19 and flu reduce hospitalization and death but are underused; early treatment may help.
Limits: lab reporting is voluntary and may not represent every area or age group; different networks use different methods; fewer SARS-CoV-2 specimens are being sequenced; and death certificates are minimum counts. National reporting of pediatric COVID-19 and RSV deaths is being standardized in 2026.
Sources
Based on Silk BJ, Prill MM, Winn AK, et al., "Respiratory Virus Activity — United States, July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 75(6), CDC; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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