'It's happening a little bit earlier.' Flu hospitalizations rise in southwest Ohio

Brooks Sutherland, Cincinnati Enquirer
·3 min read
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Local health officials are raising concerns about hospital capacity again as the Cincinnati and Dayton regions currently account for 63% of flu hospitalizations in the entire state of Ohio.

The increased flu activity comes as children's hospitals continue to wrestle with an uptick in cases of respiratory syncytial virus that has jammed up emergency rooms and caused hours-long wait times due to the unprecedented volume of patients.

As of Wednesday, the Cincinnati and Dayton regions have a combined 79 flu hospitalizations. Across Ohio, there are 125 total, according to state data. Dr. Carl Fichtenbaum, an infectious disease expert at UC Health and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine professor, said the following factors could be contributing to the early flu season jump.

  • Low vaccination turnout so far this year, given how early the flu season has arrived.

  • A decline in vaccinations due to hesitancy following COVID-19.

  • Reduced immunity to the flu as social distancing measures were put in place during the pandemic.

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"I expected this," he said. "The amount of influenza has been less for two years and our immunity wanes."

Meanwhile, intensive care unit hospitals in the Cincinnati region were 94% full and medical-surgical beds are 96% full, as of Wednesday according to data from the Health Collaborative, the coordinating group for the Cincinnati region's 40 hospitals. COVID-19 hospitalizations have remained steady at around 125 over the past few weeks.

"It's flu season, it's just happening a little bit earlier," said Tiffany Mattingly, vice president of clinical strategies for the Health Collaborative. "...These aren't unprecedented numbers but they're certainly greater than what we've seen across the five-year average. We need to keep an eye on it and also work on encouraging flu shots."

District Leaders at CVS Health Jennifer Rudell and Rob Muse go through CVS' process to receive vaccinations for both COVID-19 and flu shots. Muse received a flu shot. Flu hospitalizations have risen in southwest Ohio in recent weeks.
District Leaders at CVS Health Jennifer Rudell and Rob Muse go through CVS' process to receive vaccinations for both COVID-19 and flu shots. Muse received a flu shot. Flu hospitalizations have risen in southwest Ohio in recent weeks.

Ohio's flu season typically runs from October through March but activity often doesn't pick up until November or later. The uptick in cases began early in October this year. Flu seasons in 2020 and 2021 were notably low as pandemic restrictions kept people isolated and socially distanced.

The good news for the coming weeks is that the majority flu strain circulating the state is the H3N2 variation, a typically milder strain than the H1N1, according to Dr. Stephen Feagins, chief clinical officer of Mercy Health who also serves as the medical director for Hamilton County Public Health. Because flu levels were so low over the last two years, the flu hasn't circulated and therefore hasn't mutated, Feagins explained. And because of that, the current seasonal flu vaccine is a great match to fight the strain currently circulating.

"We may very well have right now, one of the best circulating influenza and vaccine matches we've had in a long time," he said. "And I think now is a very good time to get the flu vaccine because you are more likely to match what's circulating and more likely to have protection from when we're surging, which we are doing."

"Sometimes, I'll say 'Yeah it's not a bad idea to wait,' " he added. "Today, I'm not saying that. I'm saying 'Let's go.' "

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Flu season's starting early - and it's hitting southwest Ohio hardest