WALLA WALLA — Flu season, which typically runs from October to March, is expected to be severe this season with increased cases of flu and other seasonal viruses, an area health official said.
Dr. Lauri Larson, a primary care physician at Providence Family Medicine & Obstetrics, said she is expecting what she described as an intense flu season and that at its peak, COVID and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, would accompany it.
Larson said it was important to get a flu vaccine, especially for those in high-risk groups — children and infants, those with lung disease, those who are immunocompromised and anyone over age 65.
“It does significantly reduce their chances of coming down with the flu,” Larson said. “And even if they were to come down with flu after having their vaccine, it significantly reduces their chances of hospitalization and it reduces their severity of illness as well.”
For those who are not high-risk, Larson said getting vaccinated could help those around them, including newborns and infants or elderly family members.
Larson, along with the Walla Walla Department of Community Health and the state Department of Health, recommends the RSV vaccine, recently approved by the FDA, for adults 60 and older. RSV is a virus that typically causes cold-like symptoms but can be more serious in young children and older adults. Unlike the flu vaccine, which is recommended once a year, the RSV vaccine only needs to be taken once.
“Whether it be the common cold, influenza, RSV or COVID, the same principles for protecting yourself and others apply,” said Walla Walla Health Officer Dr. Daniel Kaminsky. “These include getting up to date on the appropriate vaccines, practicing good hygiene, staying home when sick, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and wearing a mask when appropriate.”
Besides the vaccine, Larson recommends adults and children practice regular hand-washing with soap and water, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, coughing into your elbow and avoiding sharing food and drinks with others.
According to data from the state DOH, in the first week of October, the Greater Health Now ACH Region (Walla Walla, Asotin, Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Whitman and Yakima counties) has confirmed 258 cases of COVID-19 and no hospitalizations from RSV. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the entire state has between 25 and 50 flu cases so far.
