Influenza cases have increased rapidly over the past several months among members of the University and Charlottesville communities as well as across the Commonwealth. According to medical professionals from the University Medical Center, this year's strain of Flu has been spreading earlier and more rapidly than in previous years. Because of the severe nature of this year’s flu season, medical professionals are advising students to get vaccinated and are implementing operational changes to slow the spread of flu across the health system.
According to the Flu Tracker on the Student Health and Wellness website, as of Jan. 24 there have been over 40 diagnosed cases of influenza at Student Health and Wellness since the start of the semester.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been at least 18 million illnesses due to flu this season, 230,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths across the nation. On Jan. 25 of last year, the CDC estimated there were 20 million flu infections, 250,000 hospital admissions due to flu and 11,000 deaths for that flu season.
The Virginia Department of Health reported that 3.81 percent of emergency department visits from Jan. 18 to Saturday have been due to respiratory illness — lower than this time last year when respiratory illness accounted for 9.5 percent of Emergency Department visits in the last week of January 2025.
Dr. Costi Sifri, U.Va. Health epidemiologist and infectious disease physician, said that he regards this flu season as being more severe than normal — citing a rapid increase in the number of cases he's seen in both the University and Charlottesville community. Sifri also shared that he would classify students as being a particularly high-risk population due to regular close contact in lecture halls, residence halls and other social settings.
According to an email sent to U.Va. Health team members, senior leadership has implemented a masking requirement for all employees that are within three feet of patients for more than one minute in all emergency departments. Similarly, all patients and visitors are now required to wear masks in the ED until they are moved to a room for evaluation.
Two units in the Medical Center — 4C and 4N — have also implemented mask mandates for all staff, patients and visitors, with plans for more units to require masking if outbreaks of flu occur.
Multiple central-Virginia based health systems — including U.Va. Health, VCU Health and Centra Health — have also implemented masking requirements for all patients presenting to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. Visitors experiencing flu-like symptoms are additionally being advised by U.Va. Health to postpone non-essential hospital visits.
Sifri said he has observed a growing apprehension among patients and community members about receiving vaccinations, in part due to a growing amount of misinformation being shared about vaccinations. Sifri said that he is actively working with patients and the medical community to help educate patients on the benefits of vaccination and the best ways to keep themselves safe.
According to Dr. Meredith Hayden, U.Va. Health’s Chief Medical Officer, one of the best ways to prevent severe symptoms and the spread of influenza is to receive an influenza vaccination. Most insurance companies will cover the cost of vaccination. Vaccinations are available at many pharmacies and appointments can be scheduled through the HealthyHoos portal. In Virginia, 30 percent of people have received the 2025-2026 influenza vaccine so far.
In hopes of improving the hospital's ability to respond to infections, this year, U.Va. Health was awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center — an organization specializing in special pathogen preparedness.
The grant will allow the Medical Center to increase the number of inpatient rooms that can be used as isolation rooms for patients with contagious illnesses, purchase air-respirators for staff caring for patients with infectious diseases, acquire specialized lab equipment and increase the Medical Center's internal tele-health capabilities.
Due to the severe nature of this year’s flu season, Sifri said that students and community members should still get vaccinated for influenza if they have not already.
“It [is] still worthwhile getting the flu vaccine [whether you’ve had the flu or not]. If you haven't had the flu, you're certainly at continued risk of getting the flu, since we're still seeing so much of it across Grounds and in the community in general,” Sifri said. “If you have had the flu this year, sometimes at the end of the flu season … a new strain can pop up.”
According to Sifri, students experiencing symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, confusion, wheezing that is making it difficult to breathe or prolonged symptoms that seem to improve and then worsen should seek evaluation by a medical professional.
Students can schedule appointments to be evaluated by medical professionals and receive vaccinations in the HealthyHoos patient portal. Students can receive vaccinations at Student Health and Wellness as well as in many community pharmacies. According to Hayden, students with underlying health conditions or more severe symptoms should contact Student Health and Wellness through the HealthyHoos portal or by phone to discuss care options.
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