Area hospitals seeing increase in flu patients
Take a look around your office. There’s a good chance that a co-worker or two has been out sick with the flu. To say that the flu is hitting us hard is an understatement. Dr. Jeff Kalina of The Methodist hospital tells KTRH the amount of patients he's seeing for flu symptoms is up dramatically from last year.
“The flu has gone crazy this year,” Kalina said. “We’re seeing a flu season that we haven’t seen in six or seven or eight years.”
Flu cases are up dramatically from last year as well according to Dr. Angela Shippy of HCA Hospital's Gulf Coast Division.
“We’re seeing in the emergency department an increased number of folks presenting with the flu. When they’ve tested positive, it has been mostly folks who did not get the flu shot,” Shippy said.
Shippy says not enough people got the flu shot this year, despite warnings.
“We have that group of folks that get it every single time. We have a group that gets it when it’s convenient. And then the other ones that frankly don’t believe in it and never get it,” Shippy explained.
And we all know someone that didn't get the flu shot, right? We know the excuses, too, like being afraid of needles or getting sick from the shot. Kalina says those are just excuses.
“There are a lot of misconceptions out there about the flu vaccine. Those things just simply aren’t true,” he said.
It's not too late to get your flu shot in case you're wondering. And you can ask your doctor for the flu mist if you are squeamish about needles.
