ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monroe County is experiencing a severe flu season with more than 7,000 confirmed cases. Nearly 570 people have been hospitalized, and 11 have died from the virus. News10NBC investigative reporter Jennifer Lewke spoke with the public health commissioner about the strain on the healthcare system.
Dr. Marielena Vélez de Brown, Monroe County Health Commissioner, expressed concern about the seriousness of this flu season.
“I’m concerned about this really serious season in the context of times when folks confidence in vaccines is at an all time low for the last couple of years,” said Vélez de Brown.
Hospitals are treating flu patients of all ages, though the very young and very old are at the highest risk for serious illness. The health care system is struggling to provide quality care due to overcrowding.
“Someone’s own biology, their past medical history, might mean that they could get a flu vaccine and still get sick, but they would have gotten much sicker if they haven’t gotten the flu vaccine,” she added.
“Those institutions want to provide really good care but it’s hard to do that when you’ve got people boarding in hallways and that’s what is happening,” said Vélez de Brown.
Efforts are underway to increase capacity in rehab centers and nursing homes to alleviate pressure on hospitals.
“When we think about how do we continue, how do our health care provider colleagues continue to take good care of people that are hospitalized for flu, covid, RSV any of those respiratory illnesses and the heart attacks, the strokes, everything else, there are a lot of conversations going on about how do we increase capacity in rehab centers and nursing homes,” said Vélez de Brown.
The lack of available spots in local nursing homes contributes to the backup in hospitals. The county is working to address this issue as the peak of the flu season may not have been reached yet.
RELATED STORIES:
NY State Department of Health confirms record-high flu hospitalizations occurring in a week Flu cases soar as local doctor breaks down the symptoms and solutions Rochester Regional Health reinstates mandatory masking due to sharp rise in flu cases Flu is rising rapidly, driven by a new variant. Here’s what to know UR Medicine joins RRH in ‘strongly encouraging’ masks for visitors as flu cases spike Fact Check: Medical expert separates cold remedy facts from fictionLocal Public Health Commissioner explains how the bad flu season impacts the healthcare system WHEC.com.
Hence then, the article about local public health commissioner explains how the bad flu season impacts the healthcare system was published today ( ) and is available on News10NBC ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Local Public Health Commissioner explains how the bad flu season impacts the healthcare system )
Also on site :
- Anthropic adds Allianz to growing list of enterprise wins
- Pierre Fabre Laboratories and Iktos Announce an Integrated AI-Driven Drug Discovery Collaboration in Oncology
- Robbie G.K. on ‘Heated Rivalry’ Impact on the NHL and Miley Cyrus Contributing Music to Season 2: ‘I Was Absolutely a “Hannah Montana” Fan’