Triad flu rates mirror statewide trend, but numbers are falling

Flu-related deaths are the highest they’ve been since 2018, according to state health officials.

It’s also been a bad year locally for influenza, says Dr. Christopher Ohl, an infectious disease expert at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. 

Flu deaths have spiked to more than 360 across the state this season, and the local cases have similarly spiked upward.

“Our influenza vaccination rates have fallen considerably over the last few years, so there isn’t as much immunity and cross-immunity to flu this past season,” he says.

Ohl says flu shots don’t always prevent infection. But they can ease the severity of the illness and decrease the risk of hospitalization for those who do get infected.

The Triad numbers for respiratory viruses have been coming down markedly in the last few weeks with the arrival of warmer weather.

And while flu numbers have been high this season, the number of COVID-19 cases have been lower, Ohl says. That may be because a wave of the virus came through the Triad in August, providing some immunity for the winter months.