COVID-19 traffic at hospitals is coinciding with other infections — and, in some cases, Lyon County Public Health is reporting COVID “co-infections” with flu or other winter illnesses like strep, the common cold and RSV.
Patient numbers aren’t immediately available, but this is a departure from last fall when COVID cases were at a relatively high level — especially between Halloween and Thanksgiving — while flu cases were almost nonexistent throughout the season. Lyon County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director Jennifer Millbern:
COVID and flu have similar symptoms, so it’s hard to tell whether you have either or perhaps both viruses. While COVID cases have been ongoing for nearly 20 months and have been elevated since summertime, Millbern says the flu season is nowhere near its peak activity yet. That likely won’t come until January through March.
Millbern also says it’s important to stay home if you feel sick. She says you may feel like you have a head cold, for example, but you might have flu or COVID that could give somebody else a severe infection.
