(Washington State Health Secretary Dr. Umair Shah)
Respiratory virus season has arrived, and state health leaders urge you to protect yourself and those around you.
Flu season is here, says State Health Secretary, Doctor Umair Shah, who says it’s mostly influenza-A. “We have had our first two lab-confirmed deaths for the 22-23 flu season,” Shah says, “This is a reminder that flu remains deadly. Please – this is the time to protect yourself.”
That message applies to both flu and COVID. State Health’s Doctor Tao Kwan-Gett says we’ve made a lot of progress, and except a bump in cases in September, Kwan-Gett says, “Cases have been trending down since mid-summer. Currently, we are seeing substantial or moderate rates of COVID infection across the state.
While the doctors want you to get both the flu and bi-valent COVID booster shots to keep yourself from getting really sick, the main reason is to protect hospitals that are already strained – especially with Respiratory Syncytial virus or RSV, which has filled local children’s hospitals.
They also strongly recommend you stay home if you or your kids are sick and, unfortunately, that includes skipping Halloween activities if it means you might spread one of the viruses. That plastic mask will not protect you or those around you like an N95 mask will.
Doctor Kwan-Gett also says the Monkeypox outbreak continues to wane, with just 5 new cases in the past week, but he says it’s too early to declare victory. The recommendation remains that those at highest risk should be get the Monkeypox vaccine.
You can watch the entire Department of Health briefing on TVW.
