Another Mild Flu Season? Medical Community Hopes

With the surge in COVID-19, as well as the new omicron variant, health officials are hoping for last year’s mild flu season. According to health officials, last year flu season was unusually quiet as many people stayed home. However, this year as some people ditch their masks and gather for the holidays, there is concern about an increase in flu cases. With the hospitals already being flooded with COVID, many wish this will not be the case.

Dr. David Dobrzynski from the University of Rochester Medical Center Division of Infectious Disease stated: “The biggest message is you can still get your vaccine, still prevent serious illness. That along with our strategies for COVID, handwashing, masking in public places, social distancing is going to be even more important this year…A lot of it has to do with how differently we are acting socially this year. If we look at last year this time of year businesses were shut down, schools were at a quasi-at-home schooling process and this year thankfully we have been able to open up businesses, have schools with kids there, even with masking I think people are gathering more.”

Source: 13 WHAM