The CDC's Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel resumed its weekly updates on Monday, June 22, 2026. Its first data release since the Juneteenth federal holiday delayed the normally scheduled Friday update. The national picture remains reassuring at the top line: COVID-19 activity is low in most areas of the country, seasonal influenza activity is low, and RSV is at low levels in most regions.
But the CDC's scenario modeling language — included in the same updated page — carries a specific regional warning that residents in the South and West should take seriously. "Scenario modeling indicates that regions which did not experience a substantial level of COVID-19 activity during the most recent winter months — South and West — are expected to experience increases in COVID-19 activity in the summer months," the CDC states. And separately: "It remains possible that there could be larger increases this summer, particularly if a variant that the immune system no longer recognizes becomes more common."
