Articles Tagged: Influenza

A statewide surge in influenza cases has hit hard in Eastern Iowa, with 11 Linn County schools and two Johnson County schools reporting that at least 10 percent of their students were out sick in one week, according to the most recent weekly data released by the state Health and Human Services department. But local healthcare experts say we could already be on the other side of the spike.

Just 28.3 percent of Iowans had received the flu vaccine as of Dec. 20, which would be the lowest rate in at least 7 years

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services documents high COVID-19 activity and moderate influenza activity.

When Christina Anderson's mother started having chest pains in October, they rushed to the nearest emergency room in their hometown of Ottumwa, Iowa. Because of her mother's ovarian cancer diagnosis, Anderson assumed they would be seen within a reasonable time. Instead, their trip became a nine-hour odyssey.

After two years of mild flu seasons, experts are warning that this year’s season may start earlier and be worse. Some countries in the southern hemisphere are seeing a return to pre-pandemic flu case numbers as COVID-19 mitigation practices are relaxed.

With the 2020-21 flu vaccination rate among children 6 months to 17 years at 59 percent – a 5 percentage point drop from the year prior – Neiman said more can be done for many kids.

Iowa’s already strained health care system could be in for a rough winter after officials with the University of Iowa Health Care say flu cases have rapidly increased in the past two weeks, raising the possibility that the state could face “twindemic” spikes of flu and COVID-19.

CDC officials have warned the U.S. could face an “early and possibly severe flu season” this year, prompting worry among local public health officials for widespread cases of both influenza and COVID-19 in the coming months

Doctors in Iowa and across the United States are reporting a surge in respiratory virus infections in the spring and summer months — an uncommon time of year for these common viruses to be circulating.