Photo: ROBYN BECK / AFP / Getty Images
Amid a surge in daily COVID cases in Los Angeles County, Southern California doctors warned of an unusual increase in influenza infections, a disease practically non-existent during the last two years.
In the last two years, the flu has been practically non-existent for Southern Californians . Now, doctors are saying they’re seeing a huge bump in seriously-ill children with the H3N2 strain. https://t.co/J6sJoot7k4
—ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) May 3, 2021
Health authorities have reported a recent escalation in coronavirus patients, mainly due to the Omicron subvariants , which are highly infectious.
“We are seeing a real increase. Almost double what we saw at our lowest point a few weeks ago,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Residents Los Angeles City and County residents have the opportunity to take advantage of a growing number of pharmacies and test and treatment centers where they can receive antiviral medications, such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid.
The Department of Health Los Angeles County Public also urged employers to take care of basic sanitary measures to avoid COVID infections among their workers as much as possible
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Unusual Flu Season
However, in addition to the coronavirus, influenza begins to increase its presence among residents of Southern California.
“We are seeing significant rates of influenza at this time ”, Dr. David Bronstein, an infectious disease expert at Kaiser Permanente in the Antelope Valley, told ABC.
The flu was a virtually non-existent disease for residents of Southern California for the past two years.
Currently, specialists have warned that there is a large increase in cases with seriously ill children with the strain Influenza H3N2.
“They tested positive for influenza in May, which is unusual, but as we’ve seen, things are unusual right now,” Bronstein added.
The flu season started very late, so the specialists recommended to be vaccinated against the disease in case there is still no dose against this disease.
Bronstein said that people should be careful to maintain the necessary measures to avoid being a victim of contagion as much as possible.
“It’s chaotic out there. The masks are going to protect me, so when I am in public, I still wear a mask”, said the doctor.
Given the rebound in cases, both COVID and influenza, some institutions are considering implementing some changes on the masking rules.
The University of California at San Diego will require the use of face masks in residential buildings, while UCLA is monitoring the situation before modifying any of its regulations.
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