The weekly percentage of U.S. deaths caused by flu strains is now higher than the percentage of those who died by COVID-19 for the first time since March 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measures the percentage of weekly deaths caused by both respiratory illnesses. 

During the week ended Jan. 25, 1.68% of U.S. deaths, 753 in total, were caused by the flu, going up to 2.03% of deaths, 549 in total, during the week ended Feb. 1.

By comparison, COVID-19 caused 1.5% of U.S. deaths for both of those weeks, with 668 deaths in the week ended Jan. 25 and 398 deaths in the week ended Feb. 1. 

This two-week span is the first time flu has had a higher mortality rate than COVID-19 across the U.S. since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the week that ended on March 14, 2020, COVID-19 caused 0.2% of U.S. deaths compared with 1.1% of deaths for the flu. The week after, COVID-19 caused 1% of all U.S. deaths versus 0.9% for the flu, according to a CBS News graphic.

After that, COVID-19’s percentage of the U.S. death toll grew rapidly, peaking during the week ended Jan. 9, 2021, when the disease accounted for 29.9% of all U.S. deaths.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.