The worst flu season in years is swamping California, prompting a renewed surge in hospitalizations as officials warn the disease could continue circulating at high levels for weeks to come.

The California Department of Public Health told SFGATE “elevated rates” of flu hospitalizations also have been reported across the state. According to the agency’s data as of Feb. 1, for every 100,000 people in California, about 10 have been hospitalized because of the flu.

During the first years of the COVID pandemic, elevated precautions mostly suppressed the perennial flu outbreaks that typically kill between 10,000 and 50,000 people annually in the United States.

For the first time the pandemic began, deaths from influenza have outpaced deaths from COVID-19 in 22 states, plus New York City and Washington, D.C. Dr. Jon LaPook has the latest numbers.