Broome County sees surge in flu cases this winter
Gehring says Broome saw a pair of spikes in cases around the holidays and again when Binghamton University students returned for the Spring semester.
He says hospitalizations reached a peak in late December, causing Wilson Hospital in Johnson City to briefly go on diversion, meaning ambulances were being sent to other emergency departments. Gehring says the cause of the rise could be linked to the quality of this year's flu vaccine, which is tweaked each year to try to account for the latest strain of the virus that is circulating.
He also says certain safety precautions that were common during the pandemic, such as masking, distancing and increased hand washing, have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
'It's very simple, we forget it, we have amnesia and then we panic when something happens. This is how it goes: we have vaccination, we have treatment and we have the things we can do socially to help. I'm not saying we're at a shutdown stage at all for influenza, but those kind of things have happened in the past. We've had a terrible human history with this influenza virus,' Dr. Gehring said.
Gehring says influenza symptoms tend to be severe with fever and body aches that should easily distinguish it from the common cold. He says prescription Tamiflu can be helpful in relieving symptoms, but it must be taken within 48 hours of symptoms to be effective.
Gehring says at-home tests can help diagnose the flu, assuming people follow the directions carefully. And he says it's not too late to get the flu shot.
You can see the full interview with Dr. Gehring below:
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