Does it seem like colds and flu have been worse this season than in the past? If you answered "yes" then you are right. As you can see from the chart above, both colds and flu were at the highest rates for December in several years -- with 11.6% of the population having a cold in December, and 4% having the flu. That's a 2.7 point jump in colds over December 2013, and 1.2 point jump in those having the flu.
The bad news is that we are not very far into the colds/flu season. Traditionally, the highest season for these illnesses is winter -- usually December through February (although it can start earlier and/or last later). That means we have probably not seen the peak of this colds/flu season yet. It will most likely peak in January or February.
The chart below shows the groups and areas that were the hardest hit in December.
These numbers are from a recently released Gallup Poll -- done between December 1st and 30th of a random national sample of 13,165 adults, with less than a 1 point margin of error (0.4 points for flu and 0.7 points for colds).
