Alaska reports 36 flu deaths in 2025-26 season, most in four years

Thirty-six Alaska residents died of influenza-associated illness during the 2025-26 season, more than in each of the previous three seasons. No pediatric deaths were reported. State Epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin's Alaska Section of Epidemiology published the count Friday in its Alaska Influenza Surveillance Summary, 2025-26 Season, covering activity from October 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026.

Influenza vaccination coverage among Alaskans aged 19 and older was 22.7%, according to records in VacTrAK, the state's vaccination record system, cited in the bulletin. The section put the estimated national average at 46.5%. Coverage in Alaska was similar to recent seasons. Those two figures do not come from the same method. CDC state-specific vaccination estimates report higher adult coverage figures for Alaska than 22.7%, reflecting different data sources and methods: in CDC's survey series, which measures states and the nation alike, Alaska adults were at 43.9% and the nation at 47.4% in 2022-23, the most recent season published.

The Alaska Immunization Program had waived eligibility limitations for adults for influenza vaccine during the 2024-25 season, making state-supplied doses available to all adults and children regardless of insurance status.

The 2022-23 season brought five adult deaths and no pediatric deaths. The 2023-24 respiratory virus season brought 10 influenza-associated deaths alongside 80 COVID-associated deaths. The 2024-25 season more than doubled that flu toll. Influenza and pneumonia deaths in Alaska overall rose to an age-adjusted rate of 10.0 per 100,000 in 2024, a figure corrected for the age of the population, up from 8.3 the year before, according to state vital statistics.

Cases rose rapidly in November and peaked in late December and early January. Influenza A/H3 predominated early. Influenza B became the more common type from January through April. The Alaska State Virology Laboratory tested 2,066 specimens, sending 122 to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for sequencing. Characterization found the circulating A/H3 and B viruses differed from the matching 2025-26 vaccine components. No antiviral resistance was detected. A preliminary vaccine effectiveness estimate for adults seeking care was 22% to 34%, which the section described as less effective than typical seasons.

The section did not attribute the season to any single cause. "The combination of concentrated transmission, circulating virus characteristics, low vaccine coverage rates, and decreased VE might help explain the relative severity of the 2025–26 season," the bulletin said.

The section advised clinicians to vaccinate eligible patients aged 6 months and older and to consider early antiviral treatment for older adults, young children, pregnant patients, and people with chronic conditions.