Locator: 50016FLU.
Expectations: we should start seeing more evidence of the second wave, but it will be less severe than last season; similar to earlier seasons.
So, let's go to the data.
Influenza positive tests reported to CDC by clinical laboratories:
- influenza A: continues to drop in a stepwise manner, no surprises
- influenza B: continues to increase in a stepwise manner, no surprises
- percent positive, A + B: slow increase, no surprises
This is the section that I'm most interested in:
By subtype:
- influenza A: week 6, 2026; week 40, 2025
- (H1N1)pdm09: 17%, 12%
- H3N2: 83%, 88%
- H3N2v: 0%, 0%
- influenza B, lineage
- Yamagata lineage: 0%
- Victoria lineage: 100%
Percentage of outpatient visits for respiratory illness:
- quite surprising: of the last five years, last year's (2024 - 2025) seemed to have been the anomaly;
- this season (2025-2026) is tracking previous seasons with regard to "trend," but it is more severe than previous seasons (but as noted, well below last season) -- and that's what folks tend to remember, the previous season.
The map:
- the northern tier of the US is reporting minimal influenza; from Montana to New York
- the west coast is "high" and Oregon is "very high";
- the midsection, New Mexico to Iowa/Arkansas and through the entire southeast, influenza remains ("very high")
- Texas still "high" but significantly less than the midsection
By age, emergency department visits with influenza diagnosis:
- 0 - 4 years: 7.5%
- 5 - 17: 11%
- 18 - 64: 2.3%
- > 65 years old: 1.7%
Associated hospital admissions: way, way, way down. At its peak, 14%; now 2% and dropping like a rock.
Measles: on another not, seems to be burning itself out. South Carolina and Utah were the outliers.
The vaccine appears to "work."
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Tonight's Movie Night
Sinatra In Palm Springs: The Place He Called Home, Frank Documentary, YouTube
I've watched this movie/documentary once before. Vaguely remember it. Eager to watch it again tonight.
Brings back a lot of memories. It's amazing how much "stuff" I did during my four years in southern California and then three years in what they call "northern California," though it was only halfway up the coast -- San Francisco Bay area and east to Reno. Wow, such incredible memories. I lived two lifetimes, maybe three lifetimes in southern California -- from central LA, to west LA, all the way to Las Vegas, and all the way east to Palm Springs. Had I not had an Air Force commitment, it's very likely I would have lived there all my life. My roommate born and raised in San Bernardino, school in central Los Angeles, ended up in "the valley," and that's where he and his wife, who he met in school, still live.
He was older than I by about four years, I suppose, and his wife, could have been another five to six years older than he, so they would be a bit older than I, now. I'm not thinking in terms of years but rather in terms of mental and physical health.
I was born to live an itinerant life, moving every two to four years. Four years, college, South Dakota; then four years, Los Angeles University of Southern California - Los Angeles County Hospital; then three years in the San Francisco Bay area. And it never ended, that itinerant lifestyle for thirty years.
I can't recall how many times I've been to Palm Springs. I remember only one time when I was driving cross country, but I have vague memories of having been there at least once before.
Tamarisk Country Club -- the "Jewish" country club. Because of Thunderbird Country Club -- the folks that started Tamarisk developed that golf course because they were not allowed to golf at Thunderbird. Tamarisk was an "open" club. One of the founders, Harpo Marx. First pro -- Ben Hogan -- was brought in to sell memberships. The country club was named after the tamarisk shrubs and trees that dot the desert landscape. These plants are known for their resilience and ability to withstand harsh desert weather conditions.
The Coachella Valley, located ~107 miles east of Los Angeles in Riverside County, is a premier Southern California desert destination known for its year-round sunshine, mid-century modern architecture, luxury spas, and golf courses. Palm Springs is the region's largest city, serving as a hub for dining, culture, and events like Modernism Week. The valley includes cities like Palm Desert, Indio, and La Quinta, surrounded by the San Jacinto, Santa Rosa, and San Bernardino mountains.
The map:
Twenynine Palms to the northeast. Can you imagine?
According to Google, one can drive from Palm Springs to the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica in two hours seven minutes.
