CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The official start of fall is around the corner as we wrap up the last day of summer. Local health officials said once the fall and winter weather roll around, flu season picks up.
However, the flu can start making its rounds as early as now.
"We start seeing as soon as the weather starts changing. It's not really due to the weather, it's due to us being inside the home," said Dante Gonzalez, Assistant Health Director of the Public Health District. "It gets cold inside so everybody goes inside. We're in closer quarters. It's usually, for us, around February or March."
That's when the Coastal Bend peaks, but as early as late summer is when the flu starts making it's rounds.
"Right now, the Flu numbers are not high. They're low. There's a little bit of flu, but not a lot," Gonzalez said.
Kassandra Bonilla is a student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She said that due to her peers getting sick recently, she plans to get her flu shot.
"Since I'm in college, all the students around me, when they start getting sick, I'm like 'okay I'm going to get my flu shot now' and stop it where it starts," Bonilla said.
With classes in full swing, Bonilla said getting her flu shot will protect her from the high possibility of getting sick.
"It's typically around 30 and that's a smaller class. We've had classrooms that can have hundreds of students inside," Bonilla said.
Even though flu numbers are low in the Coastal Bend, Gonzalez said it's important to think about how you can protect yourself before the peak comes around.
"It's never too early to get your vaccine for the flu. It's also never too late," Gonzalez said.
He adds that the health department offers the flu shot as well as the COVID vaccine.
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