The CDC Says That There’s a Common Virus That Is More Deadly Than the Flu

When it comes to deadly seasonal viruses, many people automatically think about the flu. That's because cold and flu season can be notoriously difficult some years, with vulnerable populations reporting higher than average deaths. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has done a study looking into the viruses that kill the most Americans each year, and as it turns out, the flu is not at the top of their list.

There's another virus that kills more than 100,000 people each year.

And the CDC says that most people have completely moved past this virus after the deadliest phases of it seemed to fall into our rearview. That's right, the CDC reports that coronavirus kills more Americans each year than the flu.

With vaccination rates on the decline, and efforts to practice social distancing and good hygiene falling by the wayside all these years after the pandemic, those numbers could conceivably go up. Here's what the CDC is saying about coronavirus and Americans.

The CDC shared some numbers about the U.S. COVID-19 deaths in a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. In it, CDC researchers wrote that they believed that there were around 43.6 million COVID-19 cases that resulted in 101,300 deaths in the U.S. alone from October 2022 to September 2023.

During the same time frame the following year, 33 million illnesses were reported, resulting in 100,800 deaths.

While the number of cases dropped by millions, the deaths did not appear to decrease at the same rate, highlighting a potential disparity in reporting. It's worth noting that the study did need to use statistical modeling to account for the gaps that the CDC says likely occurred due to a reduction in reporting after the peak of the pandemic.

However, the CDC maintains that these figures show that the coronavirus continues to put undue strain on the medical system.

According to NPR, those numbers tower over the number of flu infections and deaths. As of Dec. 30, 2025, the U.S. estimated that 7.5 million people had been sickened by the flu, while 3,100 had died. Of course, these numbers were pulled from just the first few months of the flu season, and will likely grow by the time it's over. However, they do track with the trends from years past.

During the 2024-2025 season, the CDC estimated that there were 43 million cases and 38,000 deaths.

Coronavirus is the term used to describe a wide variety of viruses that impact the respiratory system. These viruses include a few different ones that you may be familiar with, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, including:

• Covid-19
• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

The virus can cause various reactions in humans and animals, which includes everything from colds to pneumonia to death.

When medical professionals use the term coronavirus, they could be talking about any of the variations of the illness, while those who say Covid-19 are specifically talking about that disease.