SALT LAKE CITY — It's flu season again, but because RSV and COVID cases are also on the rise, the CDC is suggesting that people mask up this holiday season.
Some good news though; the CDC says that this year's flu vaccine is a very good match for the strains that are already being seen this year.
The bad news? Flu vaccine rates are down.
Hospitalizations for the flu nearly doubled during the week of Thanksgiving, while COVID hospitalizations rose 27 percent during the first week of December.
Holiday gatherings are wonderful this time of year, but also mean transmission rates can skyrocket.
“I’m just concerned that if people don't get the booster and start to relax everything . . . not a lot of masking wearing, when you start to couple those things with a new variant you just start to get in a pretty precarious place again,” said Dr. Jason Salemi, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at USF.
Doctors say to get tested if any symptoms appear, get medications for the flu and COVID, and get vaccinated to avoid getting sick or pass along an illness—a gift no one wants this season.
