Tuesday, January 28, 2025–11:30 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Five years after the pandemic began; we are not seeing a lot of COVID-19 activity in Northwest Georgia. However, other respiratory illnesses like influenza are resulting in hospitalizations across the state.
According to Dr. Gary Voccio, health director for the ten-county Georgia Department of Public Health Northwest Health District, we are seeing an increase in hospitalizations for flu.
“They were going down just a week or so ago, but now we are seeing a slight increase in flu,” he said. “The majority of people who are presenting to the emergency rooms with respiratory symptoms are flu patients, and it’s influenza A. The numbers have just crept up a little bit.”
Not everyone who gets the flu has to be hospitalized. Those most at risk are pregnant women, the very young, and those who are older.
“Nationally, the people who are hospitalized are at the highest rate are people over 65 with influenza, and in Georgia, that number is even higher,” Dr. Voccio said. “Nationally, that number is 120 hospitalizations per 100,000 people who are being hospitalized but in Georgia, it’s 143 people per 100,000 that are being hospitalized with influenza.”
There are things you can do to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like avoiding exposure to anyone who has the flu, COVID-19, or RSV.
“The closer you are to somebody in a poorly ventilated room the more likely you are to get that virus,” Dr. Voccio said. “That’s why it’s so important to cover coughs, cover sneezes and wash hands. and cover sneezes, and wash hands. Ventilation is also important. It’s hard during the winter time, but of course, opening up windows.”
Dr. Voccio was a guest on Tuesday’s First News with Doug Walker on WRGA.
