PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health is citing why she is encouraging people to get their flu shots by the end of this month, and says it’s also a good time to get the most recently available COVID-19 booster.
Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said flu pattern predictions in our area are based on what’s currently happening in the Southern Hemisphere, where cases seem to have increased from last year.
“What was seen in South America this flu season was much worse. The masks have come off in many places. People are not being as careful. We're likely to see flu,” said Dr. Bettigole.
“We're not seeing a lot of flu in Philadelphia yet, but we would anticipate some time as the weather gets colder, usually by kind of mid-fall, that we would start to see more flu cases.”
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She pointed out that the last couple of flu seasons have been very quiet.
“We think that's because people were taking precautions because of COVID,” she said.
During the last flu season of 2021-22, case totals were highest before Christmas and this past April and May. Flu case totals in the two years before the COVID-19 pandemic were highest from December through March.
Dr. Bettigole said a new, higher potency flu vaccine is recommended for those over age 65.
“That said, if you are over 65 and you're not able to get the higher potency [vaccine], the place where you go to get your flu shot doesn't have it and you know you're not going to get it somewhere else, getting a regular flu shot is better than getting no flu shot,” she said.
Dr. Bettigole recommends getting a flu vaccine before November.
As for COVID-19, Dr. Bettigole said she still meets regularly with the chief medical officers of local hospitals to review cases.
“What they're telling me is COVID is still there,” she said.
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“They're still seeing people coming into the hospital with COVID. I can tell you that we're still seeing deaths from COVID that an average of around one a day, which is — by the way — far more deaths than we see from flu.”
If it has been two months or more since your last COVID-19 shot, a new bivalent COVID-19 booster is also recommended. Both shots can be given at the same time.
She said a lot of the virus remains in circulation, so it’s important to remember preventative measures like testing and masking as we head into the holiday season.
“Once people start gathering indoors without masks on, it's likely that cases will go up to some degree,” said Dr. Bettigole.
“We're hoping people can be reasonably careful during that time, but it will depend on us.”