Flu

Late January, early February is the typical peak for respiratory illnesses/viruses in Minnesota. Dr. George Morris from CentraCare joined me on WJON. He explains a couple weeks after the holidays is when these illnesses spike and that leads to more people needing hospitalization.

St. Cloud Hospital and hospitals throughout the country are experiencing a triple threat of respiratory illnesses which includes, flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Doctor George Morris is the Physician/Vice-President for Performance Excellence at CentraCare.

The cases of influenza, COVID-19 and RSV are on the rise at St. Cloud Hospital. That according to CentraCare spokesman Dr. George Morris. He says the respiratory illness season is about about 2 months ahead of where it normally would be this time of year.

As flu season approaches, it's important to be prepared and the St. Cloud VA is holding several walk-in clinics to help.

It's just part of the everyday risks you take by going to a job...catching a bug from a co-worker. It seems so unfair and makes you wonder what you did to deserve this??

If you haven't seen the likes of this terribly catchy flu strain going around, you've been hiding under a rock...and should stay there for a while!

It appears the flu is off to an early and potent start. The Minnesota Department of Health is now describing the flu as 'widespread' in the state. Some area schools have cancelled games due to too many sick players, hospital ERs are being overrun, and the shot may be less effective than we had hoped.

Hey, wait a minute. I want my flu shot money back. (Ok, what? Oh, right I did't pay anything. Insurance covered it.) The news of the day is saying the our usual flu shot effectiveness (60%) may not be as effective this year (40%) as we had hoped. Turns out that one of the strains mutated leaving us all a bit unprotected.

Now that CNN has done its predictable job of whipping us into a frenzy, it's time to turn off the fear-o-matic channels, stop obsessing about Ebola, and instead go get a flu shot. Yes Ebola is frightening, and Western Africa is a disaster, but consider these tidbits: