As flu season begins, a slow steady increase in flu and upper respiratory illness is starting to emerge across the country. Aside from the expected sharp drop in visits over the Thanksgiving holiday (see Chart 1), visit volume has been steadily rising since November 1. The CDC estimates that there have been at least 1,100,000 illnesses, 11,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths from flu so far this season.
Visits Per Clinic Per Day
After a significant decline, from 31 in August to about 27 urgent care visits per clinic per day through mid-October, visit volume began a rebound that lasted up to the Thanksgiving holiday. While this dip is expected every year, you should see visits continue to ramp up through the end of the year.
Source: Experity data
Flu Positivity
As of December 1, flu cases are on the rise at urgent care clinics, especially across the southern and western states. Idaho leads the nation with the highest positivity rate of 42.4%. Urgent care clinics in states across the central U.S. are showing much lower flu positivity.
Source: Experity Data
Flu Positivity Rising
As we begin the holiday season in the U.S., we’re seeing a significant surge in positive lab results for flu from 3% in late September to 13% as of December 1. We do not expect the 2025-26 flu season to be severe based on historical trends.
Source: Experity Data
Check out some of our top resources to help urgent cares manage and leverage fluctuating visit volume to secure continued business growth throughout the year.
Urgent Care Quarterly
Want more industry data? Check out the latest version of Urgent Care Quarterly where we review the state of the urgent care industry and provide the latest data on other metrics that matter to your practice.
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