Flu numbers in Ridgecrest better than rest of US, for now

Aaron Crutchfield acrutchfield@ridgecrestca.com Updated Jan 8, 2026 

This year’s flu season is shaping up to be one of the worst in recent history nationwide, but the impact isn’t as bad in Ridgecrest … at least, not yet.

“Ridgecrest Regional Hospital has not observed a flu season that is worse than usual at this time,” said Brenda Diel, RN Senior Administrator Operations at RRH. “Historically, Ridgecrest experiences increases in respiratory illness later than the national average. As an isolated community, local trends typically lag behind national patterns by approximately two weeks.”

According to an Associated Press report, government data for flu activity through Christmas week showed that this season is already surpassing last year’s, which was considered one of the worst in recent history. There were 45 states reporting high or very high flu activity, up from 30 states the week before.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been 11 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths from flu so far this season, nine of them in children.

But the pattern is a bit different in Ridgecrest.

“Current local data indicate that respiratory illness levels in Ridgecrest are lower than they were at this same time last year,” Diel said. “One contributing factor may have been the higher-than-normal rainfall and mild temperatures this year, which can influence the spread of respiratory illnesses. Based on national trends, RRH anticipates a potential increase in local respiratory illness cases over the next one to two weeks. The hospital continues to monitor conditions closely.”

The CDC recommends flu shots for everyone age 6 months and older.

“It is especially important for individuals with chronic health conditions or people with weakened immune systems to receive the vaccine to ensure there are less complications from the virus,” said Kimberly Endicott, RN — Infection Preventionist at RRH.

Endicott offered a few more tips: “To stay well and keep from spreading the flu, it is important to wash your hands, avoid touching your face, cover your coughs/sneezes, clean high-touched surfaces, and when sick stay home until symptoms have resolved. It is also important to get plenty of sleep and proper nutrition.”

Diel said that being out in town and at local stores when sick can increase the spread rapidly.

“Make sure to stay home when sick to help reduce the spread,” she said. “We are an isolated small community, so the flu season takes longer to get to us, but when it does spread, it spreads fast. RRH is prepared for the upcoming flu season and will handle whatever comes our way. We are monitoring the numbers daily and will ensure all steps are taken to protect the community.”

Staying home to stop the spread is even more important this year because of the strain that has been spreading.

According to the AP report, the A H3N2 variation is the most frequently reported this year, and it has historically caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people.

But 90% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were from the new subclade K variant, which differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.

It’ll be a while until it’s known how serious that mismatch proves to be, though, because flu seasons usually don’t peak until January or February.

“The fact that we’ve seen steady increases over the last several weeks without much of a decline or even a flattening would suggest to me that we’ve got the peak ahead of us,” Dr. Robert Hopkins, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told the AP.

Originally written by Aaron Crutchfield and published by Daily Independent.
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