SC flu deaths nearly triple from same time last year, latest data shows. Here’s where it’s worst

South Carolina’s not out of the woods just yet with the flu season.

While influenza activity is climbing nationwide, South Carolina has been hit particularly hard. Although last year saw exceptionally high hospitalization rates, current data suggests this season could be even more severe.

Here are some key takeaways:

SC flu deaths up

During the 2024-2025 flu season, up to the second week of January 2025, the mortality rate was at 0.3 per 100,000 people. There were 17 influenza-associated deaths at the time.

Since the start of this year’s flu season, up to the first week of January 2026, the mortality rate increased to 0.9 per 100,000 people. There are currently 45 influenza-associated deaths from this flu season.

The region with the highest reported flu-associated death count this season is the Upstate with 20 deaths. The region with the second-highest death count is Pee Dee with 16 deaths, third is the Midlands with eight deaths and the Low Country has the lowest death count with only one reported death.

Last year’s flu season, at this point in time, followed the same trend by region.

This information was provided by the South Carolina Department of Public Health.

Hospitalizations have increased

Recent data shows that flu hospitalization rates per 100,000 people have nearly doubled since the same time last year.

In the second week of January 2025, up to 1,492 people were hospitalized from the 2024-2025 flu season. The cumulative hospitalization rate was 29.4 per 100,000.

In this year’s current flu season, updated on Jan 10, there have been 2,914 flu-related hospitalizations., and the cumulative hospitalization rate is currently 57.4 per 100,000.

During last week, there were 501 hospitalizations from flu-related problems.

There were 445 hospitalizations from flu-related problems during the second week of January 2025.

Confirmed flu cases are up

Confirmed South Carolina flu cases last week were lower than from the same time last year, but overall cases are still up this season.

In 2025, 3,230 flu cases were confirmed during the second week of the year. Up to that week, 14,443 confirmed flu cases were reported.

Last week, only 2,145 flu cases were reported, but it added the total number of confirmed flu cases to 17,779 for this year’s flu season.

How will flu season in SC shape up for the rest of the year?

Hospitalization rates at this point last January were lower than current levels, but the season ultimately ended with the highest rate seen in the past four years.

While this year’s flu season has started off rocky, the amount of confirmed flu cases and hospitalizations last week were lower than the week prior across all regions, which means flu rates have a chance to flatten out.

However, this year’s flu season is expected to continue for several more weeks, meaning it can still outpace last season’s statistics.

You can check the current status of SC’s flu season at SCDPH’s website.