A severe flu season this fall and winter could overwhelm California hospitals that are preparing for an uptick in COVID-19 cases as the economy further reopens, officials said Thursday. They urged people to get vaccinated.
Speaking with the heads of the state's hospital and medical associations, California Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said while the state has seen progress in recent weeks with coronavirus infection rates falling to their lowest level of the pandemic, officials are bracing for a surge as people start going out more just as the flu season begins.
That means it's critical people protect themselves from the flu to help keep hospital bed space available to treat people infected with the coronavirus, Ghaly said.
Officials recommend every Californian six months and older receive a flu shot this year. In past years, less than half of the state's adult population and less than two-thirds of children have gotten the flu vaccine.
The potential exists for hundreds of COVID-19 cases to show up in an emergency room with an equal number of severe flu cases, which could overwhelm a hospital, he said.