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Now that spring has arrived, respiratory virus season seems to be winding down across the country, according to the latest FluView report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Positive test rates for influenza were 9.8% for the week ending March 28, 2026, trending down as compared to the previous week (11.5%), and outpatient visits for respiratory illness also decreased to 2.6% of visits, down from 2.9%. In urgent care specifically, this month’s flu positivity is already down by 4% compared to mid-February, according to new data from Experity. Total visits nationwide are averaging 30.2 visits per clinic per day, down from a peak of 35.2 visits in the second week of December 2025. However, overall volume growth is steady, driven not just by seasonal illness but also by broader urgent care utilization trends. Visits for complaints other than respiratory, COVID, or flu categories average about 18–19 visits per day and remain the dominant contributor to visit volume. Even during peak flu activity this winter, most urgent care visits were unrelated to flu, evidence that growth is not dependent on seasonal illness alone, according to Experity.
Regional hotspots: Even with the downward trends, it’s too early to write off flu season for urgent care operators. A number of Western and Midwestern states are still reporting flu positivity over 25%. “This winter was uniquely challenging—severe weather hit the Southeast, Midwest, and Northeast in rapid succession, compounding the typical seasonal surge,” says Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor, JUCM. “But as respiratory volumes taper, the real story is what’s underneath the flu numbers. Non-respiratory visits held steady at 18 to 19 per day even through peak weeks, clear evidence that urgent care growth is structural, not seasonal. The industry’s trajectory doesn’t depend on a bad flu year to fill the schedule.”