A lot has changed in the coronavirus landscape since the pandemic started in March 2020.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the general symptoms — fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhea — can also be seen with influenza. Newman Regional Health Infection Preventionist Ester Knobloch says people developing these symptoms need to get checked quickly so they can get back to normal quickly.
Knobloch says patients at Newman Regional Health can be tested for COVID-19 and flu at the same time if they like. There are separate processes for COVID and flu vaccines.
Knobloch says it’s too early to say how potent the upcoming flu season will be, but she says the COVID mitigation measures largely in place last winter — mask use, social distancing and increased hand hygiene — helped to keep the flu to almost nonexistent levels.
Fears of COVID-flu co-infections have not materialized at Newman Regional Health, but normal winter colds are circulating now. RSV, meanwhile, is being noticed among children and at least a few adults. Numbers for flu, RSV and other illnesses have not been released at the county level. Lyon County ended last week with over 6,200 total cases of COVID-19, along with 187 active cases and 94 deaths.
