The flu season ended a month earlier than normal and was particularly mild, according to data from the CDC

The flu season appears to have come to an early end, official data shows – as doctors say it was ‘mild’ compared to previous years.

CDC figures show that reports of flu-like illnesses have been below the threshold for an active flu season, which usually officially ends in May, for three straight weeks.

Other indicators, such as hospitalizations and patient testing, are also low or declining — and no state is reporting high or very high numbers of flu cases.

It suggests that the 2023 to 2024 flu season is now over.

Above shows the 2022 to 2023 flu season, left, and 2019 to 2020, right, the data for this season was slightly above last year’s, but below 2019 to 2020 levels

The most recent flu season is shown as a red line next to previous seasons

Dr. Jay Varkey, an infectious disease physician at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, said their departments felt “strained, but never over capacity.”

“It felt more like a traditional respiratory virus season than when we had huge Covid resurgences that threw it into disarray,” he said.

In total, the CDC estimates there were at least 34 million illnesses, 380,000 hospitalizations, and 24,000 deaths from influenza.

That was actually slightly above the level of the previous season, when there were an estimated 31 million illnesses, 360,000 hospitalizations and 21,000 deaths.

But lower than the numbers from the pre-pandemic season, when an estimated 36 million illnesses, 390,000 hospitalizations and 25,000 deaths from flu were estimated.

Flu season normally lasts until May in the United States, after starting in October and peaking around December to February.