Northern California doctors hope warmer weather will help stem worst flu season in years
SACRAMENTO – New numbers show this flu season is the worst we've seen in years – and for the first time since the pandemic, more people are dying from influenza than from COVID.
February is turning into a busy month for healthcare workers treating people who are sick.
"It's a bad flu and there's a lot of it," said Dr. Jennifer Nuovo, the Chief Medical Officer for Blue Shield of California's Promise Health Plan.
Dr. Nuovo says this year's influenza levels are the highest in more than seven years.
"It's called a high-severity season and we honestly have not seen a high-severity flu season since 2017/2018, so we're a little rusty," Dr. Nuovo said.
Flu hospitalizations in California peaked the first week of February with more than 4,300 people having to be admitted.
Last week, the number was still high at more than 2,600.
"Hospitals are busy, the ICUs are busy, and the doctors' offices are busy. Every appointment is booked," Dr. Nuovo said.
So why is this flu season so bad?
"The influenza-a strain that's circulating is particularly infectious," Dr. Nuovo said.
A big concern is vulnerable populations like infants and the elderly.
Last week, four more children died from the flu in California – bringing the season total to 15 deaths. And the state health department says only a small percentage of Californians got a flu shot this season.
"If you have not had the flu shot it is not too late, we still have another full month and a half of pretty high flu rates," Dr. Nuovo said.
Some people are also wearing masks in public to help stop the spread.
At Tuesday's Sacramento city council meeting, two of the nine council members were masked up while they recovered.
But there could be some relief on the way. Dr. Nuovo says this weekend's warmer weather across the state could help get flu levels lower.
"We're going to be outside more, the fresh air is definitely going to help us," Dr. Nuovo said. "We're lucky to have this nice week ahead of us."
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 24 million people have gotten the flu so far this year. There have been 13,000 deaths, according to the CDC.
