Respiratory Virus Update Fall 2026

[the tldr version] Each year, ~100k children are hospitalized and 1000 American children are killed by COVID, flu, and RSV. Not killed and happened to have these viruses, rather - those viruses make them so sick they need hospital support and some perish. We can help prevent complications with RSV monoclonal shots for littles and covid and flu vaccines for kids 6 months and older. If you think your child has flu or covid, antivirals can help early in course. Call our office with questions about this or any other issue for your child. 615-352-2990 The Detailed version During a typical respiratory virus season in the United States, over 100,000 children are hospitalized due to major respiratory viral infections like Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Influenza (flu), and COVID-19. Following a massive post-pandemic resurgence in late 2022 and 2023, recent years have stabilized into high annual seasonal volumes • Pediatric deaths from respiratory viral infections generally range from several hundred to nearly 1,000 children each year. • While the vast majority of children recover safely from these illnesses, the total death toll fluctuates depending on the severity of the specific season. Recent years—particularly the 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 respiratory seasons—saw a historic, record-breaking spike in pediatric mortality driven primarily by a highly severe influenza strain. • RSV o Historically, RSV drives 58,000 to 80,000 hospitalizations each year among children under 5 years old. It accounts for roughly 10% of all infant hospitalizations nationwide o The CDC estimates that 100 to 300 children under the age of 5 die from RSV annually in the United States. • Influenza o In the 2024–2025 season, 45,756 children were admitted to the hospital with influenza. Over 21,000 of these cases were in children under 5 years old. o The recent 2024–2025 flu season was the deadliest non-pandemic season for U.S. children since national tracking began in 2004. The CDC reported 289 pediatric flu deaths. o Demographically, 61% of these deaths occurred in children under 9 years old, and the CDC's statistical modeling suggests underreporting means the actual count may have been closer to 790 deaths. • COVID o During the 2024–2025 season, 11,199 children were hospitalized with COVID-19, with the vast majority (7,746) being under 5 years old. o Pediatric deaths directly attributed to COVID-19 have drastically declined since the peak pandemic years of 2020–2022. However, the virus still causes roughly 50 to 100 pediatric deaths annually in the U.S., with infants under one year old continuing to experience the highest mortality rate among the pediatric cohort. Learn even more at https://www.childrenscolorado.org/jus...