BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- The CDC estimates over 20,000 people have died from the flu in the 2025-2026 flu season. While spring season is on its way, the flu is definitely still here. ABC57's Sidney Moore spoke with Sara Palmer, an Epidemiologist with the Berrien County Health Department and she says the flu season tends to slow down by the end of March as warm temperatures approach.
Michigan is currently in the very high category for cases of influenza like illnesses across the state, and Indiana is currently labeled moderate. Sara Palmer, Epidemiologist, Berrien County Health Department says, “We still have high influenza levels in Michigan right now, and down here in Berrien County, we're definitely still seeing a lot of flu. Initially, the season started off with a lot of influenza A, and now we're starting to see more influenza B coming on as well.”
Palmer says we are also observing deaths still from influenza, especially from patients who are not vaccinated. In Indiana alone five people have recently passed from influenza like illnesses with over 100 total for this season so far.
But one virus that is taking over the nation, measles. The US has already confirmed around 1,000 cases for this year alone. According to the Berrien County Health Department, there were around 30 confirmed cases in 2025. The biggest cause for this spread is the slowdown in measles vaccine rates across the nation. Looking back to the year 2000 cases of the measles in the US were unheard of. It is common for people to travel to other countries and bring it back with them if they are not vaccinated. Some of the reasons behind the slowdown in individuals getting the measles vaccine are factors like misinformation, and the fact that the virus has not been common in the US for years.
Now with this uptick some adults are choosing to get the vaccination, but Palmer says it is most effective when given to younger individuals. For the state of Michigan, there are many kids who do not have their vaccine. Palmer explains, “But when we look at all kids, including kids who are too young to be vaccinated, zero to 17 years old, we're only at about 65% coverage for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. So, we have a lot of kids who are vulnerable to becoming infected for a variety of reasons, either they're not old enough to be vaccinated, they don't qualify to be vaccinated, or they're behind, or they're chosen choosing not to be vaccinated. So we do have a pretty vulnerable population.”
If you have any questions regarding vaccinations or either of these viruses you can contact your healthcare provider or the Berrien County Health Department at (269) 926-7121