NEW YORK -- Could this nasty flu season finally be winding down? U.S. health officials on Friday said fewer visits to the doctor last week were for fever, cough and other flu symptoms than during the previous two weeks. Flu-like illnesses accounted for 1 out of 16 doctor visits last week, while the number of states reporting high patient traffic for the flu also dropped, to 39 from 43. 
 
 Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said they're cautious about saying flu season has peaked but called the downturn encouraging. 
 
 "It does like the peak is behind us now," said Dr. Daniel Jernigan, director of the CDC's Influenza Division. Even so, he warned, "there is certainly a fair amount of influenza to go this season -- probably until mid-April." 
 
 Flu season usually peaks in February, but this season started early and surged for months. It has been driven by a formidable type of flu that tends to cause more hospitalizations and deaths. This year's flu vaccine is estimated to be only 25 percent effective against the H3N2 virus. 
 
 "H3N2 affects more older folks, with very high hospitalization and death rates," Jernigan said, while influenza B, which is now becoming more prevalent, tends to affect younger people. Overall, the flu vaccine has been more effective for children than adults this year, reducing illness by 59 percent among kids ages 6 months to 8 years old. 
 
 The CDC reports 13 more children died of the flu last week, bringing the number of pediatric flu deaths to 97 this season. 
 
 Even at this point in the season, health officials recommend people get a flu shot if they haven't already. 
 
 "There's still, potentially, eight weeks left of the flu season, and the CDC is saying, 'go and get the flu shot,'" CBS News' chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook said recently. "Overall, about a third of the people who got the flu vaccine were protected, but in kids under 9, almost two-thirds were protected against influenza." ||||| CLOSE The flu vaccine may only be 36% effective, but it could significantly decrease your chance of a heart attack. Tony Spitz has the details. Buzz60 
 
 Women wear facial surgical masks in an effort to protect themselves from the influenza virus outbreak while waiting to change trains at a MARTA rail rapid transit system station in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 8, 2018. (Photo: Erik S. Lesser, EPA) 
 
 The most intense nationwide flu outbreak in a decade appears to be losing steam, but it killed an additional 17 children, bringing the total to 114 pediatric deaths, federal health officials reported Friday. 
 
 The flu remained widespread in 45 states in the last full week of February, down from 48 the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. 
 
 Fewer people showed up at doctors' offices with flu-like symptoms. Such visits made up 5% of all outpatient visits, down from 6.4% the week before. 
 
 A few weeks ago, that number was at 7.7%, the highest since the swine flu pandemic of 2009. 
 
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 “It looks like we did peak in early February,” CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said. “The activity is still high, but it looks like it is starting to come down, especially around the West Coast and some other parts of the country. 
 
 "Still, it’s likely that we have many more weeks of the flu season to go, probably through mid-April,” she said. 
 
 The grim toll on children is higher than that in the past couple of flu seasons but not as high as the final count reported for the severe flu season of 2014-15, when 148 children died. 
 
 ► Feb 12: Is Tamiflu the answer for your flu? Here's what you need to know 
 
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 About 56,000 people, mostly older adults, died that year. The CDC does not keep exact counts of adult flu deaths. 
 
 This year's flu vaccines prevent about 36% of flu cases in vaccinated people but work better, at a rate of about 59%, in young children, according to the CDC. The vaccines are less effective, about 25%, at preventing illnesses caused by the dominant virus behind this year's epidemic. 
 
 Most of the children who died this year had not been vaccinated. That was true for child fatalities in previous seasons. 
 
 Follow Kim Painter on Twitter: @KimPainter 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2oKMKSn ||||| CLOSE The flu vaccine may only be 36% effective, but it could significantly decrease your chance of a heart attack. Tony Spitz has the details. Buzz60 
 
 A nurse prepares a flu shot at the Salvation Army in Atlanta. The CDC is still recommending flu shots. (Photo: David Goldman, AP) 
 
 The worst flu season in a decade is still not over, with 13 new children deaths reported after more than three months of unusually persistent misery across the U.S. 
 
 The numbers were "encouraging," especially the data showing a decline in visits to the doctor's office for anyone with flu-like symptoms, said CDC spokeswoman Kristin Nordlund. These visits made up 6.4% of trips to the doctor, down from 7.5% of visits the previous week. 
 
 "It looks like we may have reached the peak of flu season," says Nordlund. 
 
 The decrease in child deaths from 22 the week before by itself was not necessarily a sign the severe flu season was abating, however, as each week's total from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes deaths from earlier in the season. 
 
 Even though there was a decrease in the number of states reporting high levels of flu, more than half of the country is still reporting high levels of activity. There was also an increase in reports of the less deadly B strain. 
 
 That leads Nordlund to note, "it looks like we still have many more weeks of flu season to go," adding that it could last until mid-April. 
 
 The flu remained widespread in 48 states, according to the CDC's latest report Friday. In the last severe flu season, during 2014-2015, 148 children died. The flu also killed an estimated 56,000 people, mostly older adults, that season. 
 
 Most of the children who have died this year, as in past years, have not been vaccinated. The CDC does not keep exact counts of adult flu deaths. 
 
 All 10 regions reported flu-like illness reports that were at or above baseline levels in the areas. New York City, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 39 states experienced high flu-like visits. 
 
 It's definitely not too late to get a flu shot, which remains highly recommended. "As long as flu is circulating," you can catch the flu so the vaccine is recommended. 
 
 More: 
 
 Tips for avoiding the flu while traveling 
 
 This is why this flu season is so serious 
 
 Fighting the flu? This technology tries to help you get well faster 
 
 This year's flu vaccines are preventing about 36% of flu cases in vaccinated people but are working better, at a rate of about 59%, in young children, according to the CDC. The vaccines are about 25% less effective at preventing illnesses caused by the dominant virus behind this year's epidemic, CDC reported last week. 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2HIcKWW
– "It does like the peak is behind us now," CBS News quotes Dr. Dan Jernigan as saying. But the director of the CDC's Influenza Division says that doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet, warning there's still "a fair amount of influenza to go." Jernigan says this flu season, which has been the worst in a decade, could continue until mid-April. And despite signs the flu is finally letting up, it's still doing plenty of damage. The share of doctor's visits related to the flu dropped from 7.5% last to week to 6.4% this week, USA Today reports. And the number of states with high patient traffic related to the flu dropped from 43 to 39. Another 13 children were reported dead from the flu this week—bringing the total this flu season to 97—but that's down from the 22 child deaths reported last week. While this year's flu vaccine is only 36% effective overall, it's 59% effective in children. Most the of children reported killed by the flu this week had not been vaccinated, and experts say parents should still be getting their children vaccinated even this far into the flu season. Meanwhile, NBC News looks at why experts believe next year's flu vaccine will be mediocre at best.