This nasty flu season, which has been worsening for months, may finally be leveling off.

Health officials on Friday said about 1 of every 13 visits to the doctor last week was for fever, cough and other flu symptoms. That’s still nearly as high as it’s been in a decade, but it’s no worse than last week. It had been increasing each week since November.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the number of states reporting heavy flu patient traffic also held steady at 43.

This season started early and has been driven by a formidable type of flu that tends to put more people in the hospital and cause more deaths. This year’s flu vaccine is estimated to be only 25 percent effective against that type.
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