HELENA As the temperatures drop and the days grow shorter, flu season is officially upon us. Health officials are urging the public to take precautions as cases begin to rise.
“You are colder, you are inside, you are coughing, you are spreading the germs, so we see it spread easier,” said Shelly Maag, the Lewis and Clark Public Health nurse supervisor.
Watch Learn more about the rise in illness cases:
Germs that cause illnesses like the flu, RSV, and COVID, and although it is just now starting to cool off, these illnesses are already spreading here.
“Flu season has been earlier this year,” Dr. Tyler Harwood at St. Peter’s Health says. “Typically, we see that it starts in October, and this year we have been seeing cases in September that have kind of been spiking up now.”
Peak flu season, when facilities begin to limit visitors, is usually in December, but other viruses are on the rise right now.
“We have been seeing over the last several years that COVID comes in waves,” Dr. Harwood says. “It does tend to run seasonally along with the influenza, the flu.”
The change in weather can bring on a wave of COVID cases, and Dr. Harwood says, “the colder weather lets the virus last longer, makes it easier to transmit from person to person.”
Young children, the elderly, and expectant mothers are at the highest risk. Vaccines are one way you can keep yourself healthy, but there are other things you can do too, like washing your hands.
“If you are sick, you should stay home, especially if you are getting a fever, cough, and just not feeling well; that is the sign you should stay home and get rest,” said Maag.
For more resources about these illnesses, visit this link, and for a free flu shot, click here.
