A spike in flu cases has filled local hospital emergency departments, busied area pharmacies, and brought an influx of absences and call offs at schools.
This year, it's at its worst since 2009, leading to 16,000 flu related deaths nationwide so far, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The increase has put a strain on hospitals being able to meet the demand of patients, said Lisa Henderson, vice president of health initiatives at the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association.
“But our hospitals continue to do that,” Henderson said. “We've just seen that there are increased wait times in some emergency departments during some times of day.”
Some patients might be offered the option of transferring to another hospital.
People with non-emergency, non-flu related illnesses or injuries should consider visiting urgent cares or primary doctors’ offices, Henderson said. But, those experiencing severe symptoms, like difficulty breathing, chest pain, dehydration, or a fever above 104°F, should seek emergency care.
The Clark-Shawnee School District in Clark County hit a breaking point earlier this month when about 30 of its staff called off. Superintendent Brian Kuhn said they continue to face up to a dozen call offs a day, usually covered by their substitute pool.
“Our food service was impacted, transportation, teaching staff, support staff, and it was just too many absences that we couldn't cover and we just couldn't safely maintain school operations,” Kuhn said.
He said they've also had a break out of a GI bug. The district is using air purifiers in high traffic areas and an amped-up disinfecting regimen.
Getting over the peak
Ohio is in the middle of a “rough” flu season, Clark County Health Commissioner Chris Cook said. The state is experiencing very high flu activity, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
“I do see some other states starting to come down,” Cook said. “I hope that's the destination for Ohio, but I don't think it's over quite yet, based on past experience.”
This flu season might be representative of how the next pandemic might go, he said.
“Pandemics are not something that we hope doesn't happen again, they're going to happen again,” Cook said. “I think every influenza season is a way that we can prepare and be ready for something that becomes a lot worse.”
The population of Influenza-vaccinated individuals has decreased by just over 17%, compared to this week in the 2019-2020 season. That's according to CDC data.
“There's a lot of lessons learned for public health throughout the last five or six years when it comes to how the public is willing to accept information and data and make choices,” Cook said. “We may make individual choices, but a collection of individual choices is what makes up population health, and that's the target of public health.”
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