Maryland doctor predicts rough flu season will only get worse
Hospitals in the Greater Baltimore region have been dealing with the brunt of a tough flu season, especially with crowding in emergency rooms.
It follows a nationwide trend as flu numbers are up all across the country.
One of the leaders at LifeBridge Health's Northwest Hospital in Randallstown is calling this flu season one of the worst he's seen in awhile.
Multiple surges
It's not even the peak of flu season. Still, Dr. Nishad Rahman, the Medical Director of Emergency Medicine and Observation at Northwest Hospital, said area hospitals have been seeing a big uptick in flu patients for more than a month.
"This is actually an earlier and more aggressive peak than we see in any typical year, so we continue to see flu patients well into February in any given year," Dr. Rahman said.
How early this season's flu surges came is particularly concerning to Rahman. He said the first surge came post-Thanksgiving, and we're likely seeing the post-Christmas surge right now.
Dr. Rahman said there will likely be a surge stemming from New Year's celebrations soon.
Respiratory viruses, such as RSV and COVID, are also keeping his hospital and others busy, according to Rahman, but the overwhelming majority of cases are due to the flu.
Rising numbers in Maryland and beyond
The Maryland Department of Health lists flu activity as "high" on its influenza dashboard.
So far this flu season, 1,261 people have needed to be hospitalized. Seven people have also died from the flu.
"Every hospital is trying to staff up and put more resources toward the front end," Dr. Rahman said. "The expectation is that we will continue to see this surge, volume, and acuity of patients."
Maryland is among more than two dozen states seeing high levels of the flu.
The latest CDC data tallies at least 7.5 million cases so far, 81,000 of whom have had to be hospitalized.
Experts say a new strain of the flu has been a problem.
"We have one this year that is a bit unusual. It's called H3N2. It is associated with just more severe illness, and we're seeing a lot more people get infected," said Dr. Ashish Jha, former dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.
Not too late to vaccinate
Rahman stresses getting a dose of the flu vaccine is the best protection against the illness.
Right now, CDC data shows only around 42% of adults and children have gotten vaccinated. Dr. Rahman said the low vaccination rate is likely contributing to the surges.
"The biggest benefit is that if you have the flu shot and you subsequently get the flu -- it does not mean the vaccine was ineffective," Dr. Rahman said. "The vast majority of the time you will not end up being hospitalized."