In Luxembourg, the flu has claimed 4 times as many lives as COVID-19

According to the Luxembourg Ministry of Health, in 2025 influenza caused 40 deaths in the first 6 weeks of the year, significantly more than the 11 deaths from COVID-19 and 7 from RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in the same period. The epidemic peaked in January and early February, but the number of infections has begun to decline.

According to data from 10-16 February, the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza fell from 2,049 to 1,617, down 21% from the previous week. This indicates that the peak of the epidemic has passed, but the virus remains active, especially among children and young people.

The winter of 2024-2025 was particularly difficult for Luxembourg. The elderly were the main risk group, as many cases were fatal. In addition, serious infections in children led to hospitalisations. Health officials attributed the high incidence to the simultaneous circulation of three strains of the virus - H1, H3 and B - which increased the burden on the health system.

One of the key factors in the severity of the epidemic is the low vaccine efficacy this season, especially for people over 65 years of age. While exact data for Luxembourg are not available, in France vaccine efficacy is estimated at only 26%, which experts believe is due to a mismatch between the virus strains in the vaccine and those circulating this season.

Neighbouring countries are also recording high levels of flu-related morbidity and mortality. For example, according to Public Health France, in the fourth week of January, influenza caused 7.1 per cent of all deaths in France, while COVID-19 caused only 0.9 per cent.