APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Local health officials are keeping an eye on the progress of the coronavirus, but they are still more committed to slowing the continued growth of numbers when it comes to influenza this season.
“I don’t know that it has peaked yet because of the way the numbers keep growing,” says Outagamie County Public Health Nursing Supervisor Jo Ellen Biadasz, “Right now, influenza across the nation is at a high level. And it is in the state right now as well.”
Those numbers may be higher than most people realize. The percentage of those impacted in our region is significantly above the standard baseline of predicted illnesses.
“Our baseline I think is 2.6%, but currently in our region, we are well above the threshold, which is 4%. And it continues to climb,” Biadasz tells WTAQ News, “So far this year, we have 44 [deaths] – and that’s in our state alone.”
There are still clinics being made available, even to those without insurance, to help stunt the growth of those numbers.
“The influenza season in our state goes well into the spring, so we are still saying it’s not too late to get a flu vaccine,” Biadasz says, “There is a lot of concern about the coronavirus, but right now there are more individuals that are suffering from seasonal influenza, and there is a vaccine for that.”
If you believe you may have symptoms of the flu, check with your doctor immediately.
