Updated on Feb. 26, 2018.

Has the flu season peaked?

Yes, it appears to have. About 6.4 percent of Americans visiting doctors in the week ending February 17 had flu symptoms, down from a peak of 7.7 percent two weeks before.

Flu activity was rated “high” in 39 states, as well as in New York City, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Five states reported “moderate” activity. Six states are experiencing only “low” or “minimal” activity: Florida, Idaho, Washington, Maine, Montana and North Dakota.

How bad is this season?

It has been as bad as any since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopted stringent surveillance methods in the early 2000s. The peak infection rate equaled that of the 2009 “swine flu” pandemic. (The rate is a measure of what percentage of all patients visiting doctors in a particular week had flulike symptoms, including a fever of at least 100 degrees.)