New MA COVID-19, Flu, RSV Data Source Shows Virus Trends: DPH

BOSTON, MA — Now there's one place in Massachusetts where you can catch all your favorite seasonal viruses.

The state Department of Public Health last week launched a new data source for tracking COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity in Massachusetts. The new resource combines the existing flu and COVID-19 dashboards into one place and adds information about RSV — a virus that's common, but has drawn more attention in recent years because of its risk to children.

"Our goals are to focus on metrics that are useful at this time for public health action and for individuals to make informed decisions about their choice of activity and use of prevention tools," State Epidemiologist Dr. Catherine Brown said in a news release.

Residents who visit the respiratory illness reporting page will find several dashboards showing items like the number of COVID-19 cases reported over the last week, and which counties in the state have the highest flu cases. The page also contains wastewater data showing concentrations of COVID-19, data on respiratory virus hospitalizations and data on vaccination rates.

Although you can catch a respiratory virus any time of year, viruses like flu and the common cold are more active as people gather indoors during cold and snowy weather. For example, flu is typically in season between October and May. The state's dashboards will follow the fiscal year, beginning in July and ending in June.

As of this week, the state's data sources showed flu activity low in Massachusetts, over 3,600 new COVID-19 cases in the week ending Sept. 24 and that 0.1 percent of emergency room admissions were due to RSV. DPH plans to update the dashboards weekly.