The United States is at the highest level of respiratory illness since at least the 1997-98 flu season, according to data published Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC estimated that at least 11 million people have had the flu this season, 120,000 have been hospitalized with it, and 5,000 people have died.

One flu-associated pediatric death occurring in the 2025-2026 season was reported to CDC this week, bringing the season total to nine reported influenza-related pediatric deaths.

During the last week of the year, 8.2% of doctor visits were for flu-like symptoms. At the same point last season, which was also a year with high flu activity, that number was 6.7%.

All but four states show high or very high levels of activity as a new virus strain called subclade K continues to spread. Subclade K is a strain of the influenza A (H3N2) virus, and influenza A has been the most frequently reported influenza viruses so far this season. In turn, among 389 influenza A (H3N2) viruses collected since Sept. 28, 2025 that underwent additional genetic characterization at the CDC, 90.5% belonged to subclade K.

When it comes to how hard the flu is hitting this year, the season has not broken any records yet, CNN reported. So far, the number of people hospitalized puts this season in third place since 2010-11, but those numbers could climb as the virus spreads. The CDC expects flu activity to continue for several weeks.

Additionally, on Monday, the U.S. dropped childhood vaccine recommendations for flu, rotavirus, meningococcal, and hepatitis A, Reuters reported. The latest rollback advances Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s goal to pare back childhood vaccination, and health experts warned could lead to preventable hospitalizations and deaths.

Flu vaccinations already have been dropping in children, from a peak of 53% during the 2019-20 flu season to 42% at the same point this season. Vaccines also have dipped in adults, from nearly 61 million in 2019-20 to roughly 48 million this year, CDC data showed.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division on Monday issued six opinion letters designed to promote clarity, consistency, and transparency in the application of federal labor standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

The opinion letters provide official written interpretations from the division that address real-world questions and explain how laws apply to specific factual circumstances presented by individuals or organizations.

The opinion letters include:

• FLSA2026-1: Whether an employee’s role meets the criteria for the learned professional exemption under section 13(a)(1) of the FLSA, and, if so, whether an employer is nevertheless permitted to reclassify the employee as nonexempt.
• FLSA2026-2: Whether section 7(e) of the FLSA permits an employer to exclude certain bonus payments from an employee’s regular rate of pay. The letter also addresses how to include these payments in the calculation of employee overtime premiums if the payments must be included in an employee’s regular rate of pay.
• FLSA2026-3: Whether a union and employer can enter into a collective bargaining agreement that mandates a 15-minute “roll call” prior to each scheduled shift but excludes that time when calculating overtime premiums under the FLSA.
• FLSA2026-4: Whether, for purposes of the overtime exemption for certain commissioned employees in section 7(i) of the FLSA, an employer in a jurisdiction in which the state minimum wage exceeds the federal minimum wage must use the federal minimum wage, or alternatively, the higher state minimum wage, to determine whether it has satisfied the minimum pay standard in section 7(i)(1), and whether tips are deemed compensation for purposes of section 7(i)(2)’s requirement that more than half the employee’s compensation consist of commissions.
• FMLA2026-1: How a school closure of less than a full week impacts the amount of leave a school employee uses under the FMLA.
• FMLA2026-2: Whether FMLA leave may be used for time spent traveling to or from medical appointments, including cases in which an employee provided the employer with medical certification from a health care provider that confirms the employee’s need for the appointment, but the certification does not address travel to or from the appointment.

In June, Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling announced the launch of the department’s opinion letter program, which expands the department’s longstanding commitment to providing meaningful compliance assistance that helps workers, employers, and other stakeholders understand how federal labor laws apply in specific workplace situations. The public is encouraged to use the division’s new opinion letters page to explore past guidance and submit new requests.