Flu cases spiking after low numbers during COVID pandemic
Montgomery County leads the state with 53 confirmed cases so far this season
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Flu season officially started October 1st and already there’s more cases this year than have been seen the last couple of years. The Clark County Health Department says on this week last year, the whole state only had 3 reported cases of the flu. This year, the state is at 286.
“Almost kind of came out of nowhere,” says Allison Fuller, Clark County mom and director of Kids Discovery Center.
The state releases updated flu numbers every week and currently Montgomery County is leading with a total of 53 cases so far this flu season with all but two of those cases showing up in the last week.
The past couple of years the number of flu cases has been minimal, many health experts say because of the precautions people were taking to protect against COVID-19. Precautions like masking up, being vigilant about hand washing and staying socially distanced. In central Kentucky, many counties are sitting in the single digits for flu cases, with the exception of Scott county with 25 flu cases for the season, but in places like Clark County, parents are skeptical.
“Clark county says there’s only 6. Only 6 adults. Eh I don’t know,” says Joan Lawson, whose family in Mt. Sterling has come down with the flu.
Many Clark County parents, taking to the comments section on the Clark County Health Department’s post about the flu, revealing many children who have tested positive in the area.
“I have four boys and then five, including myself, all tested positive for the flu and that was through a doctor’s office,” says Fuller. “The number of kids that are out of school and out of our childcare center alone confirm way more.”
The Clark County Health Department says the numbers that are counted are only those reported through PCR tests, not rapid tests.
“One of the things that we know is that there are a lot of doctor’s offices and medical providers using rapid antigen tests and unfortunately when we look at the statute and we look at ‘what is a reportable disease’, that’s a probable test result not a confirmatory and so it doesn’t count necessarily,” says Becky Kissick, public health director at the Clark County Health Department.
Not reporting rapid tests, leaving many parents to doubt the health department’s reported numbers and fear for their children’s safety.
“Could this, counting these rapids, slow our spread down if we had better numbers?” says Fuller.
“You’re not getting a clear picture of how many actual cases there are,” says Lawson.
The health department says it’s not too late to get a flu shot since flu season typically runs through April and hits its peak around the new year. Call your local health department or pharmacy to find out how to make a flu shot appointment.
