October is early for Whatcom County to experience its first flu death
Whatcom County has seen its first flu death for the 2022-2023 season, the county health department announced Friday, Oct. 28.
“Across the country, flu illness and death trends are much higher than in the last two years, and statistics suggest this winter could be worse than a typical pre-pandemic flu season,” the Whatcom County Health Department news release stated.
The county recorded one flu death in the 2021-22 season and none the year earlier during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were four deaths in 2019-20, eight in 2018-19 and seven in the 2017-18 season.
“Looking at countries in the southern hemisphere that just had their winter flu season during our summer suggests that we will have a relatively severe flu season here also,” said Dr. Greg Thompson, co-Whatcom County health officer.
“During the past two years, preventive measures like masking and physical distancing not only blunted the worst impacts of COVID on our communities but also dramatically reduced the spread of respiratory viruses like influenza and RSV. Now that people are going back to pre-pandemic activities we are seeing a significant increase in flu and other respiratory diseases in the U.S.,” he said in the release.
People at the highest risk of flu are 65 and older, those with underlying health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease, pregnant people and children younger than 5.
October is early for Whatcom County to experience its first flu death compared to previous seasons, according to Zachary Doobovsky, county public health nurse supervisor in the release.
Peak flu activity is usually between December and February, but typically runs from about October through April.
The best way to protect yourself from the flu is to get a flu vaccine this fall, the county said.
The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone six months and older. You can find a flu vaccine provider at vaccines.gov.
Washington Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah said the state had seen its first two lab-confirmed flu deaths for the 2022-2023 season in a state Department of Health briefing Thursday, Oct. 27, according to early reporting in The Bellingham Herald.
Shah underscored not forgetting about the risk of COVID as people enter the winter months, with patients able to receive both vaccines — flu and COVID — the same day.
