COVID-19 cases spike among North Texas kids as flu season arrives early
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — COVID-19 cases in Dallas County are up by 32% right now, according to the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation.
Pediatric COVID-19 cases are up 51%, with school-age groups driving the growth.
"What we're seeing is that every age demographic has gone down in cases over the last two weeks," said Dr. Joseph Chang, the Chief Medical Officer of Parkland Health. "Except for one, and that is the zero to 17-year-old pediatric group. It's no coincidence that about two weeks ago, we saw all of DFW basically open up for school again."
Dr. Chang says the worry is that the pediatric group will now bring the virus home and pass the disease on to others.
"What I'd love to see, obviously, is for parents to really, really think about getting their kids vaccinated," he said.
This COVID-19 spike is coinciding with an early start to the flu season in North Texas.
"Right after the kids went back to school, l for the first week and a half, we did see an uptick in the flu," said Dr. Shawn Riley, Regional Medical Director for CareNow.
That's why doctors recommend going ahead and scheduling the flu shot for you and your family too.
"You're going to see fever, cough, body aches, chills, those are the hallmarks of the flu," said Dr. Riley. "They also happen to be some of the symptoms that coincide with COVID-19."
To prevent both, doctors say we have to go back to the basics – some of the measures we took a lot more seriously during the pandemic.
"Cover your mouth, cover your nose when you sneeze, those kinds of things," Dr. Chang said. "Wash your hands after doing stuff."
