Influenza cases have been relatively quiet since the pandemic, but based on both national and international trends, healthcare professionals anticipate that could change this winter.
“I think we’re going to have a bad flu season this year. Hopefully not,” said West Hartford resident Gerry Bonelli.
For the last couple years, doctors say pandemic-related precautions have kept flu cases low.
“Kids have either not been in face-to-face school or wearing masks,” said Dr. Rob Dudley, pediatric specialist at the Community Health Center of New Britain.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
But now, those numbers are back on the rise.
“There isn’t that background immunity that kids get and because of that, we’re seeing a lot more flu. We’re sort of at risk for when flu hits, having a much worse season,” Dudley said.
Just a couple weeks into flu season, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is already reporting above-average cases nationwide, but it’s what happened in the southern hemisphere during their flu season that’s caught the attention of doctors.
Local
“They had a horrible flu year last year, so we’re sort of thinking from that trend that we’re at risk and we’re starting to see it now,” Dudley said.
In Connecticut, doctors say flu numbers are slightly above average, and with lower immunity, fewer masks and “vaccine exhaustion,” that trend is expected to continue upward.
“The question is when is that rise going to happen and I’m not sure when that steep rise is going to happen just yet,” said Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist at Hartford HealthCare.
For some locals, a potential spike is no reason to get a flu shot.
“I’ve never gotten one, I’ve never been boosted,” said Bruno Zavarelli of Berlin.
But others, such as Gale Brown, are taking doctors’ recommendations, and getting their shot sooner rather than later.
“I got my flu shot already. I encourage everyone to get a flu shot,” Brown said.
Both Wu and Dudley emphasized the importance of the flu shot as a way to limit the spread this flu season. For more information on how to register for a flu vaccine, click here.
