Utah Influenza Season 2025-26

[Commonground]

4-year-old Ogden girl dies after complications from influenza
January 9, 2026

OGDEN, Utah (KUTV) — An Ogden family is grieving the loss of their 4-year-old daughter, Elora “Ellie” Ann Rudd, who died after complications from influenza on Jan. 6.

Family members said Ellie was taken to McKay-Dee Hospital, where doctors discovered she had the flu and adenovirus. After staying overnight, her condition worsened, and she developed pneumonia and sepsis.

She was life-flighted to Primary Children’s Hospital, where she later died from complications caused by blood clots in her heart and a lack of blood flow to her brain.

https://kutv.com/news/local/4-year-old-ogden-girl-dies-after-complications-from-influenza

[Commonground]

Respiratory disease surveillance overview

Report date: January 07, 2026
Excerpt:
Mortality surveillance: pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 (PIC)

Data for this report were accessed on January 07, 2026 12:00 AM


Flu severity measures at a glance
The gauges below indicate the severity of the current flu season based on historical data from previous seasons. A green gauge indicates low severity, orange indicates moderate severity, red indicates high severity, and purple indicates very high severity.

https://dhhs.utah.gov/health-dashboards/respiratory-disease-data/

[Commonground]

‘Why her?’: Parents speak about 4-year-old who died after complications from the flu
January 13, 2026

OGDEN, Utah (ABC4) — The parents of four-year-old Ellie are mourning their loss and speaking about their daughter’s life after she passed away due to complications from the flu.

Elora “Ellie” Ann Rudd passed away recently at only four-years-old. Her family said that she was taken to McKay Dee Hospital, where she was diagnosed with the flu and adenovirus. Adenovirus has similar symptoms to the cold and flu and is also highly contagious.

Her family added that the flu had gone around the family, starting around Christmas. At the beginning, Ellie was doing okay and seemed to be battling the flu pretty well. The entire family had similar symptoms, but Ellie developed a concerning cough, and Sarah Rudd, her mom, took her to the hospital.
-snip-

At this point, the Rudds say they have more questions than answers, and one of those questions is most prominent in Sarah’s mind.

“I just wonder, ‘Why her?’…I don’t know why it hit Ellie so hard,” Sarah said. The Rudds’ oldest daughter also caught pneumonia and bronchitis while the family was sick and was hospitalized.

...https://www.abc4.com/news/northern-u...lications-flu/

[Commonground]

Report date: January 14, 2026
What’s new this week?

COVID-19

COVID-19 activity is low in Utah but increasing. The best time to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine is now to be better protected from COVID-19 infection.

Influenza

Flu activity is high in Utah. It is still not too late to get a flu shot. The best time to get a flu shot is now to be better protected through the remaining winter months.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

RSV activity is low in Utah but is increasing. RSV activity can be different each year, but we believe we are at the end of the season. Ask your doctor about how to stay healthy during RSV season. Older adults, very young children, and pregnant women may be eligible for vaccines or treatments to prevent RSV.




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Mortality surveillance: pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 (PIC)
Each week, we collect the total number of death certificates received and the number of certificates for which pneumonia, influenza (flu), or COVID-19 was listed as an immediate, underlying, or contributing cause of death. The percentage of deaths due to pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 are compared with a seasonal baseline and predicted epidemic threshold, which are based on data from past flu seasons. These data are used to monitor the severity of pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 illness in the community.

https://files.epi.utah.gov/Utah-respiratory-dashboard.html#overview