The flu is out in force. And so far this season, it’s been hitting children the hardest.
Heading into the new year and the new decade, the flu season seems to be picking up proverbial steam. That in and of itself isn’t unusual, NBC News reports — flu season typically hits a peak between December and February. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the particular type of flu activity prevalent so far this season is unusual, because the type of virus that’s spreading so far isn’t usually dominant until the early spring. Because of this, the 2019-2020 flu season might last longer than usual.
Ballad Health Chief Executive Officer Alan Levine said flu cases from the system’s emergency rooms doubled in a week — the week before Christmas, hospitals reported 279 cases, and the week of Christmas, they reported 539.
“We expect this spike that we’ve seen is not the worst of it,” he said, adding, “I think, potentially, it’s going to be very serious. Levine said he only expects it to get worse as students head back to school next week.
“We’re already a little bit fatigued as a system,” Levine said. “Not just Ballad, throughout the country, hospitals are struggling with this already and we’re still four or five months from the end of the flu season.”
Regional numbers mirror a nationwide trend — the Centers for Disease Control estimates between 4.6 million and 6.6 million flu cases so far this year, between 2.2 million and 3.2 million medical visits for flu, between 39,000 and 68,000 hospitalizations and at least 2,100 deaths.
People can actually pass it along before they ever realize they are sick. Emergency room doctors say it’s most contagious within three to four days of getting ill, but some people don’t even know they have it yet. So, they’re out in the public after having been exposed to someone else and then they expose other people.
Typical symptoms of the flu include coughing, achiness, fatigue, fever, and sometimes nausea.
Even if you’re immunized, you should still take steps to avoid the virus. Here are some tips from the Tennessee Department of Public Health:
• Cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing.
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water; supervise kids to make sure they also are being thorough with hand washing.
• Consult with your doctor at the first sign of symptoms, which include runny nose, stuffiness, fevers, muscle aches, headaches, and cough.
• If you feel sick, stay home.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the particular type of flu activity prevalent so far this season is unusual, because the type of virus that’s spreading so far isn’t usually dominant until the early spring. Because of this, the 2019-20 flu season might last longer than usual.
The CDC announced earlier this week that there have been between 4.6 million and 6.6 million flu cases so far this year, between 2.2 million and 3.2 million medical visits for flu, between 39,000 and 68,000 hospitalizations and at least 2,100 deaths.
Given the prevalence of this unusual strain for this time of year, it’s important to remember that there’s still time to get a flu shot if you haven’t gotten one. A CDC-supported 2018 study found that even it you get the flu after receiving a flu shot, your symptoms are likely to be greatly reduced and your length of time spent being sick is likely to be shorter.
If you’re able to get the flu shot, it’s important to do so for the sake of minimizing the risk for people who aren’t able to. “Flu vaccination is always the best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications,” the CDC reports, both for you and the people around you.
Shots aren’t fun, it’s true, but neither is missing work or school because you are sick. Neither is a cough that becomes pneumonia. Neither is the physical and emotional and financial fallout from a simple illness that becomes catastrophic.
Excuses for not getting a flu shot aren’t generally very good. A flu shot is relatively painless and convenient. It’s also often free with many health insurance plans. And, because some people, including newborn children and people with some serious health issues, cannot safely be vaccinated, it is up to the rest of the population to get flu shots.
It should be an annual errand for most of us, yet less than half of all American adults get the vaccine each year, according to the CDC.
Hopefully, this brutal flu season will end soon. But until it does, everybody has a role to play in making sure the virus spreads to as few people as possible.