CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Flu activity is on the increase in the Coastal Bend and the numbers show a big jump from where we were during the same week last year.
For the first week in Oct., the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District reported 513 flu cases, compared to just 7 at the same time last year.
Flu-like sicknesses for the first week in Oct. hit 1,230, compared to 198 the year before.
Flu Season typically starts in late winter, but according to the doctors at Driscoll Children’s Hospital, this is not a typical year.
Nueces was one of three counties in the state during this period that reported an increase in flu activity, something Dr. Dante Gonzalez, Assistant Director of the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District confirms.
“We’re seeing the same thing. We’re seeing A and B. That’s one of the programs we do here at the Health Department. We have a flu surveillance team," Gonzalez said.
‘A’ and ‘B’, meaning both chains of flu are already present in the city.
In recent years, flu numbers have been down, something Gonzalez attributes to the fact that we were more aware of battling COVID-19 at the same time.
He tells us that what worked before will work again.
“We were wearing masks, we were washing our hands, we stayed away from people that were sick, and for a little bit, we kind of forgot to continue to use those prevention methods that really do work," Gonzalez said.
He added that making any potential flu impact less severe, can happen even as we battle both viruses.
“More important than anything else is to make sure that you stay up on your flu vaccine and make sure that you stay up-to-date on your COVID-19 vaccines," Gonzalez said.
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