- Respiratory virus–associated hospitalizations declined overall in September 2025 (–27.1%).
- COVID-associated hospitalizations declined substantially (-45.1%) but still account for the most virus-associated hospitalizations in those aged 65 and older (1.1%).
- Rhinovirus remained the leading cause of virus-associated hospitalizations across all ages, particularly among young children.
Respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), continue to contribute to hospitalizations across the United States. Vulnerable populations, such as infants, children, and older adults, are particularly at risk of severe outcomes. Few sources regularly monitor hospitalizations associated with respiratory viruses. Truveta Research has created a respiratory virus monitoring report to supplement the surveillance data provided by the CDC by describing weekly trends in the rate of hospitalizations overall and for each of the six most common respiratory viruses: COVID-19, influenza, human metapneumovirus (HMPV), parainfluenza virus, RSV, and rhinovirus. This information can inform decisions about public health, clinical care, and public policy.
Because Truveta Data provides the most complete, timely, and clean de-identified EHR data, including full patient medical records, notes, and images, linked with closed claims for more than 120 million patients across the US, we can show the latest trends in these respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations, including valuable insight into two at-risk populations: infants and children (age 0-4 years old) and older adults (age 65 and over).
This blog provides a snapshot of the key findings with data through October 5, 2025 in the report specific to the overall population across all respiratory viruses, as well as for two high-risk populations: infants and children (age 0-4 years old) and older adults (age 65 and older). For the full analysis – inclusive of demographics, comorbidities, and overall trends in virus-associated hospitalizations across all age groups for each virus – see the complete monitoring report with data through early October 2025 on MedRxiv.
Key findings: Trends in respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations
Using a subset of Truveta Data, we identified 767,906 hospitalizations of 697,482 unique patients who tested positive for a respiratory virus between October 1, 2020 and October 5, 2025.
Overall hospitalization rates declining
The overall rate of respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations decreased in September. There was a 27.1% decrease in the rate of hospitalizations from early September to early October, with respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations accounting for 1.9% of all hospitalizations at the end of September.
Notably, rhinovirus-related hospitalizations were the leading cause of respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations through September and now are associated with 1% of all hospitalizations.
COVID-associated hospitalizations decreased across the month (-45.1%), while hospitalizations associated with influenza, HMPV, parainfluenza, and RSV remained stable.
Pediatric respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations remain stable
Among children aged 0–4 years, respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations remained stable at 2.3% throughout September.
Rhinovirus accounted for the most virus-associated hospitalizations at 1.7% in this age group.
RSV-associated hospitalizations among the pediatric population increased slightly in September (from 0.1% to 0.3%). However, the concurrent rise in RSV test positivity rates in this group suggests this trend warrants continued monitoring moving forward.
Respiratory virus-related hospitalizations declined in adults over the age of 65
Among adults aged 65 and older, hospitalizations related to respiratory viruses declined to 2.0% of all hospitalizations (-35.9%) through early October.
COVID-related hospitalizations remained the most common, despite the rate of associated hospitalizations decreasing (-49.2%); in this age group COVID-associated hospitalizations still account for 1.1% of all hospitalizations.
Discussion
It is important for public health experts and clinical providers to understand the trends in these infections to inform decisions about public health, clinical care, and public policy. Connecting population-level trends with granular clinical information available in Truveta Studio can be very useful to understand which populations are most impacted and may require additional support.
We will continue to monitor respiratory virus-associated hospitalization overall and for at-risk populations throughout this 2025-2026 respiratory virus season (October 2025 through September 2026).
Learn more about how Truveta Data supports timely disease monitoring – contact us for a demo