Flu cases on the rise - what to know and what you can do
With the holiday season in full swing the past month, the Uncas Health District has seen an increase in cases of the flu. The district provides local public health services to residents of Bozrah, Franklin, Griswold, Lebanon, Lisbon, Montville, Norwich, Preston, Salem, Sprague and Voluntown.
According to Susan Dubb, public health nurse for the Uncas Health District, the number of cases in the district for the week ending Dec. 2 was 42, up from the previous week’s total of 13. The week ending Dec. 2 was the week immediately after Thanksgiving.
“That was the most significant jump we’d seen in a while,” Dubb said regarding the increase in cases of the flu.
Local flu cases
There were 24 reported cases of the flu the week ending Dec. 9, with 23 reported in the area the week ending Dec. 16. During the most recently completed week, which ended Dec. 23, there were 20 reported cases in the Uncas Health District as of Wednesday morning. Dubb said the final data figures for the week ending Dec. 23 were lagging due to the Christmas holiday.
On Wednesday morning, 15 flu cases had been confirmed in the Uncas Health District for the week ending Dec. 30. Dubb believes the number of cases will be high for that week, as it includes Christmas.
Dubb attributes the increase in cases of the flu to people getting together for holiday gatherings. She also believes some have refused to get their annual flu shot, as they are sick of getting shots, causing more people to get the flu.
“I think people are tired of being told to get vaccinated,” Dubb said. “COVID made people tired of being told what to do.”
Who is getting the flu?
Of the 132 reported flu cases confirmed in the health district Wednesday morning for the weeks ending Dec. 2 through Dec. 23, the 18-49 age cohort had the greatest number of cases, with 41. Senior citizens ages 65 and older had the second highest number of cases during that time frame (33) while those ages five to 17 had the third most cases (30). 128 of the reported cases were of the A virus, with the other four being the B virus.
Dubb said that the number of reported cases between the weeks ending Dec. 2 through Dec. 23 is only a fraction of the total number of flu transmissions.
“Many who get the flu just deal with it themselves,” she said.
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Many residents of the Uncas Health District have taken precautionary measures against the flu, as Dubb estimated Tuesday morning that approximately 70 percent of district residents had received their annual flu vaccination. Dubb expects the percentage to rise, as many residents of the health district get their annual flu vaccination in late December and early January.
Dubb encourages those who have not yet received their annual flu shot to do so. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that everyone six months of age and older, with rare exceptions, should get a flu vaccine every season.
“While the vaccine might not prevent you from getting the flu, it is very good at preventing hospitalizations caused by the flu such as pneumonia,” Dubb said.
“We just want people to know that flu season happens every year and thousands of people die each year from the flu,” Dubb said.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Flu cases are on the rise in the Norwich area this holiday season
