SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The U.S. saw a mild flu season in 2020, but for the 2021-22 flu season, some areas of the country have experienced pre-pandemic-like levels of cases.
In California, 17 flu deaths have been reported since Oct. 3, 2021, and according to the California Influenza Surveillance Program, flu activity has been relatively low across the state so far this season.
ABC10's medical expert Dr. Payal Kohli says while flu cases were lower these past two years, many people did not develop immunity to new flu strains. Kohli also says while concern for COVID-19 has risen, some people seem to have forgotten about the flu.
"Unfortunately, this year we have seen a lower rate of vaccinations for the flu than we've seen in years past, but so far this season, we've already seen over 2,000,000, flu-like illnesses, over 20,000 hospitalizations and actually 1,200 deaths occurring as a result of the flu," Kohli said.
She urges everyone to get the flu vaccine on top of the COVID-19 vaccines and booster dose to achieve maximum protection for your immune system. According to the CDC, flu activity typically peaks between December and February.
"The severity of the illness if you have been vaccinated, the number of days that you're infectious and how long you stay out of work is actually a lot less in people that are vaccinated," Kohli said. "I would say that every vaccine that you get is really a deposit into your immune system's savings banks — in fact, what we have seen is that people who get vaccinated for the flu have been associated with a lower risk of heart attacks and they've also been associated with less other respiratory infections because it kind of flexes your immune system's muscles and really gets it in shape."
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