Respiratory illnesses are up, but not by much

It’s now been one week since the Thanksgiving holiday. All across the country, people traveled far distances to be with their loved ones. This had some doctors concerned about an uptick in the spread of respiratory illnesses.”During flu season, it is not unusual to see a slight spike in respiratory viruses and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now,” said Memorial Health internal medicine specialist, Dr. Tim Connelly. “Connelly said at Memorial Health right now, they have three COVID-19 patients, four RSV patients, six flu patients and three patients with rhinovirus.”So all in all, we have 16 patients admitted with respiratory viruses right now in the hospitals,” Connelly said. “Normally, this time of year, we’d have one or two of each of them. So it’s a little bit higher than we typically see, not a lot higher. We’re not at any crisis level or anything such as that.”A spokesperson for the Coastal Health District said when it comes to flu, Georgia as a whole is seeing a lot of cases.”The most recent data we have shows that Georgia is at a 10 on a scale of 1 to 13 in terms of number of people complaining of influenza-like illness, so that is high,” said Ginger Heidel, a public information officer for CHD.To keep yourself healthy, experts say you should take basic safety precautions.”Good hand hygiene. I do tell people when they’re in an enclosed space, like an airplane or a bus for any amount of time, you know, it’s not a bad idea to mask in those in those instances,” Connelly said.”It’s easy to spread respiratory illnesses when you’re out and you’re coughing and sneezing. Do make sure that you’re covering your cough with your elbow, or with a tissue. Make sure you’re washing your hands frequently. But really, the best thing you can do is to stay home and avoid spreading those illnesses to other people,” Heidel said.Heidel said you should also consider getting tested if you display any respiratory symptoms.”We’ve got in the Coastal Health District seven different kiosks. They’re like vending machines, basically, that dispense free test kits. They used to just be for COVID, but now they are actually for COVID and for flu,” Heidel said. “So if you’re feeling those symptoms of respiratory illness, you’re not sure what it might be. You can go get one of those free test kits.”Both Heidel and Connelly said you should also consider getting your flu shot or updated COVID-19 shot if you haven’t already.”They still say it’s considered safe to get flu and COVID at the same time. There’s no reason you can’t get those shots concurrently,” Connelly said.CHD is offering vaccine incentive events in multiple counties throughout the month of December. They’re offering $100 gift cards. You have to make an appointment to participate, and you must not have already gotten the updated COVID-19 shot.The money for the gift cards is coming from federal funding for COVID-19 outreach. For more information, click here.

SAVANNAH, Ga. —

It’s now been one week since the Thanksgiving holiday. All across the country, people traveled far distances to be with their loved ones. This had some doctors concerned about an uptick in the spread of respiratory illnesses.

“During flu season, it is not unusual to see a slight spike in respiratory viruses and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now,” said Memorial Health internal medicine specialist, Dr. Tim Connelly. “

Connelly said at Memorial Health right now, they have three COVID-19 patients, four RSV patients, six flu patients and three patients with rhinovirus.

“So all in all, we have 16 patients admitted with respiratory viruses right now in the hospitals,” Connelly said. “Normally, this time of year, we’d have one or two of each of them. So it’s a little bit higher than we typically see, not a lot higher. We’re not at any crisis level or anything such as that.”

A spokesperson for the Coastal Health District said when it comes to flu, Georgia as a whole is seeing a lot of cases.

“The most recent data we have shows that Georgia is at a 10 on a scale of 1 to 13 in terms of number of people complaining of influenza-like illness, so that is high,” said Ginger Heidel, a public information officer for CHD.

To keep yourself healthy, experts say you should take basic safety precautions.

“Good hand hygiene. I do tell people when they’re in an enclosed space, like an airplane or a bus for any amount of time, you know, it’s not a bad idea to mask in those in those instances,” Connelly said.

“It’s easy to spread respiratory illnesses when you’re out and you’re coughing and sneezing. Do make sure that you’re covering your cough with your elbow, or with a tissue. Make sure you’re washing your hands frequently. But really, the best thing you can do is to stay home and avoid spreading those illnesses to other people,” Heidel said.

Heidel said you should also consider getting tested if you display any respiratory symptoms.

“We’ve got in the Coastal Health District seven different kiosks. They’re like vending machines, basically, that dispense free test kits. They used to just be for COVID, but now they are actually for COVID and for flu,” Heidel said. “So if you’re feeling those symptoms of respiratory illness, you’re not sure what it might be. You can go get one of those free test kits.”

Both Heidel and Connelly said you should also consider getting your flu shot or updated COVID-19 shot if you haven’t already.

“They still say it’s considered safe to get flu and COVID [shots] at the same time. There’s no reason you can’t get those shots concurrently,” Connelly said.

CHD is offering vaccine incentive events in multiple counties throughout the month of December. They’re offering $100 gift cards. You have to make an appointment to participate, and you must not have already gotten the updated COVID-19 shot.

The money for the gift cards is coming from federal funding for COVID-19 outreach. For more information, click here.

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