Now鈥檚 the time to get the COVID-19 booster and flu shots 鈥� especially with winter approaching.
鈥淲e hit 400 patients with COVID in the hospital about a week ago,鈥� said Dr. Manisha Juthani, 海角换妻鈥檚 public health commissioner. 鈥淚 do expect that that number will continue to rise over the next couple of weeks.鈥�
Juthani told 海角换妻 Radio鈥檚 鈥�Where We Live鈥� that her department is also monitoring the flu across the state. Less mask usage this winter may result in more flu cases.
鈥淔lu has been low for the last couple of years,鈥� Juthani said. 鈥淲e do anticipate it鈥檚 going to be much higher this year; we already see activity. We鈥檙e expecting a worse flu season than usual.鈥�
Still, there鈥檚 good news. According to the CDC and hospital systems, with vaccines, people are protected against the severity of both the and . Juthani said the new COVID bivalent booster would prevent people from getting severely sick. 海角换妻 has administered close to 100,000 doses since early September.
Workforce shortages
Ahead of the anticipated uptick in COVID and flu cases, 海角换妻, like the rest of the U.S., is facing nursing shortages.
鈥淗ealth care workers are still doing their part that they do every single day in hospitals,鈥� Juthani said. 鈥淭here are people who certainly have left the workforce. There have been several state initiatives to bolster workforce development. But these types of initiatives take time.鈥�
海角换妻 launched a higher education program earlier this year to build up the pipeline of nurses, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
Emily Caminiti contributed to this report.
