Flu season usually starts picking up in San Diego County around the beginning of November. But this year, the county is already seeing higher than normal flu activity, according to the latest Respiratory Virus Surveillance report.
“We've already seen eight deaths, which is four times more than we were this time the last three years,” said Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan, the county’s public health officer.
All eight people who died were over 50 years old, and six had not been vaccinated.
“We usually tell people to ‘get vaccinated for flu before boo,’ meaning that we want people to get vaccinated by Halloween, so they are protected,” Thihalolipavan said.
Flu vaccines are effective at preventing infection 40% to 60% of the time, he said. And even if you get the flu, the vaccine can still make symptoms milder.
The main circulating strain circulating in San Diego County is H1N1, according to county data.
“We don't really know why the flu season has started earlier this year, but we do know that we're here, and we know that, thankfully, the circulating strains are ones that are in the vaccinations, so there is and should be … a good match this year,” he said.
The county is also using a new forecasting tool, developed with UC San Diego Resilient Shield program, to predict hospitalizations.
“That is telling us that the next two weeks are predicted to be higher in terms of hospitalizations and more severe,” Thihalolipavan said. “So while we don't know the whole rest of the season, we do know that it's going to get worse before it gets better.”
Flu can also affect the cardiovascular system.
“There's an association between getting flu and these other things, like heart attacks,” Thihalolipavan said.
He said the body’s response to fighting the infection can cause inflammation, which may put extra stress on the heart.
It is not too late to get vaccinated, he said.
The county recommends flu vaccination for everyone six months and older. Shots are available through healthcare providers, pharmacies and county public health centers.
